Semiconductor memory device comprising a plurality of static memory cells

ABSTRACT

A driver power supply circuit stepping down a power supply voltage is arranged at a power supply node of a word line driver. The driver power supply circuit includes a non-silicide resistance element of N+ doped polycrystalline silicon, and a pull-down circuit lowering a voltage level of the driver power supply node. The pull-down circuit includes a pull-down transistor having the same threshold voltage characteristics as a memory cell transistor pulling down a voltage level of the driver power supply node, and a gate control circuit adjusting at least a gate voltage of the pull-down transistor. The gate control circuit corrects the gate potential of the pull-down transistor in a manner linked to variations in threshold voltage of the memory cell transistor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device, andparticularly to a structure of a static semiconductor memory device thatallows stable writing and reading of data even under operationconditions of a low voltage.

2. Description of the Background Art

When transistor elements are miniaturized according to the progressionof miniaturization technologies, voltage scaling depending on theminiaturization is required in view of reliability of the elements andpower consumption. As the miniaturization is performed, an influence ofvariations in manufacturing parameter increases, and causes largevariations in threshold voltage of transistors (i.e., insulated gatefield-effect transistors to be referred to as “MOS transistors”hereinafter) that form a memory cell. Consequently, it becomes difficultin a semiconductor memory device to perform stable writing and readingof data with a low power supply voltage.

Various structures have been proposed for stably writing and readingdata even with such a low power supply voltage.

An article 1 (K. Zhang et al., “A 3-GHz 70 Mb SRAM in 65=CMOS Technologywith Integrated Column-Based Dynamic Power Supply”, ISSCC 2005, Digestof Technical Papers, February 2005, pp. 474-475) has disclosed astructure which switches a level of a memory cell power supply voltagebetween those for data reading and data reading, and thereby improves astatic noise margin SNM and a write margin.

In this article 1, a memory cell power supply voltage is controlled amemory cell column at a time. In a data write operation, the memory cellpower supply voltage in a selected column is set to a low voltageVCC-LO, and the cell power supply voltage in unselected columns is setto a slightly high voltage VCC-HI that is substantially equal to that ina read operation. In the read operation, the cell power supply voltageis kept at high voltage VCC-HI so that a static noise margin in the dataread operation is improved. Also, in the write operation, the memorycell power supply voltage is set to low voltage VCC-LO so that a writemargin is ensured.

An article 2 (M. Yamaoka et al., “Low-Power Embedded SRAM Modules withExpanded Margins for Writing”, ISSCC 2005, Digest of Technical Papers,February 2005, pp. 480-481) has disclosed a structure that sets a memorycell power supply line in a selected column to a floating state in adata write operation, and sets memory cell power supply lines in theother, i.e., unselected columns to a predetermined voltage level similarto that in a read operation. This article 2 has also disclosed astructure that uses a dummy bit line to produce a word line deactivationtiming signal WOFF according to a potential of this dummy bit line, andthereby deactivates a word line driver to drive a selected word line toan unselected state.

In the structure disclosed in this article 2, each word line is providedwith a discharge transistor (i.e., a transistor for discharging) thatsets the word line to a ground voltage level and is independent of aword line driver. This discharge transistor stays off during a standbystate. When a selected word line is to be driven to an inactive state,the discharge transistor rapidly drives the word line to the unselectedstate by its large current drive power. After it drives the word line tothe unselected state, a power supply to this word line driver isinterrupted so that a gate potential of the discharge transistor attainsthe L-level according to the driver power supply voltage to turn off thedischarge transistor.

A publication 1 (Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-038557) hasdisclosed a structure in which a level changing circuit is used in aword line driver, and a selected word line is driven with a voltageamplitude different from that of a memory cell power supply voltage. Bychanging the potential of the selected word line, it is intended toimprove write and read margins even when variations occur in thresholdvoltage of a memory cell transistor.

In the structure disclosed in the article 1, switching of the level ofthe memory cell power supply voltage is controlled a memory cell columnat a time. Therefore, two kinds of voltages are required as the memorycell power supply voltage, which results in a problem that a structureachieving the two kinds of power supplies becomes complicated.

Although the memory cell power supply voltage is switchable betweendifferent levels, these voltage levels are fixed potentials produced byan internal power supply circuit. Therefore, even when a thresholdvoltage of the memory cell transistor varies due to variations inprocess parameter, the voltage level does not change according to suchvariations, and it is difficult to compensate for the changes inthreshold voltage. Therefore, it is difficult to ensure reliably thewrite and read margins when changes or the like occur in electriccharacteristics such as a threshold voltage of the memory celltransistor.

In the structure disclosed in the article 2, the memory cell powersupply line in the selected column attains the floating state in thedata write operation, and lowers the power supply voltage of the memorycells in the write column so that the write margin may be ensured.Although this article 2 has disclosed the improvement of the writemargin and the reduction of the power supply current, any considerationis given to a method of improving the read margin when variations occurin threshold voltage of the memory cell transistor.

In the structure disclosed in the reference 1, the memory celltransistor is formed of a Thin Film Transistor (TFT). Even when thethreshold voltage thereof varies, the level changing circuit changes apotential amplitude of the selected word line for improving the writeand read margins. More specifically, in the data write operation, thestructure in this reference 1 drives the selected word line to apotential level higher than the memory cell power supply potential, andthereby increases a current drive power of an access transistor in thememory cell so that fast writing may be performed and the write marginmay be ensured. In the data read operation, the structure drives theselected word line to a voltage level lower than a high-side powersupply voltage of the memory cell. Since the gate potential of theaccess transistor in the memory cell lowers, the current drive powerlowers, and thereby the static noise margin is ensured so that datadestruction may be prevented in the data read operation.

In the structure disclosed in this publication 1, however, the levelchanging circuit is supplied with an operation power supply voltage froma system different from that for the memory cell power supply voltage,and the shifted voltage level thereof is fixed and is not affected bythe threshold voltage of the memory cell. In the reference 1, it isnecessary to employ a system of the power supply for the level shiftingindependent of that of the memory cell power supply so that the powersupply systems have a complicated structure. Although the level of thepotential of the selected word line is shifted, the voltage levelthereof is fixed, and it cannot flexibly follow the variations inthreshold voltage of the memory cell transistor.

In the reference 1, the selected word line is driven to the voltagelevel higher than that of the memory cell power supply in the data writeoperation, and no consideration is given to the stability of the data inunselected memory cells connected to the selected row in the data writeoperation.

In the semiconductor memory device, when an operation environment(operation temperature) changes, characteristics of the memory celltransistor changes with it. Therefore, from the viewpoint of reliablyensuring the write and read margins, it is desired to set the voltagelevel of the selected word line to the optimum value depending onoperation environments such as an operation temperature. In theforegoing reference 1 and articles 1 and 2, however, such a structure isneither disclosed nor suggested that reliably adjusts the selected wordline according to variations in threshold voltage of the transistor inthe memory cell when the foregoing operation environment changes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to provide a semiconductor memory devicethat has a simple circuit structure, and allows stable writing andreading of data even with a lower power supply voltage.

Another object of the invention is to provide a semiconductor memorydevice that adjusts the selected word line potential in a mannerflexibly following variations in threshold voltage of the memory celltransistor, and thereby can ensure write and read margins even with alow power supply voltage.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a semiconductormemory device that sets a word line potential to an optimum valuedepending on variations in threshold voltage of the memory celltransistor independently of an operation temperature, and thereby canensure write and read margins.

A semiconductor memory device according to the invention includes aplurality of static memory cells arranged in rows and columns; aplurality of word lines arranged corresponding to the respective memorycell rows and each connected to the memory cells in the correspondingrow; a plurality of word line drivers arranged corresponding to therespective word lines, and each driving the corresponding word line to aselected state when the corresponding word line is address-designated;and a driver power supply circuit stepping down a voltage on a mainpower supply node and supplying the stepped-down voltage to a driverpower supply node of the word line driver. The driver power supplycircuit has a resistance element connected between the main power supplynode and the driver power supply node, and a pull-down circuit pullingdown the voltage on the driver power supply node. The resistance elementis formed of a passive element.

In this semiconductor memory device according to the invention, theresistance element which is the passive element and the pull-downelement set the voltage on the power supply node of the word linedriver. Therefore, the potential of selected word line can be low in theread operation, and a conductance of an access transistor in the memorycell can be reduced so that a static memory margin in the read operationcan be improved.

The device simply uses the resistance element which is the passiveelement and the pull-down circuit, and does not require the power supplyfor the level changing so that a power supply structure can be simple.Since the resistance element which is the passive element is used, aresistance value of the resistance element slightly increases when itstemperature increases, but the resistance element has temperaturecharacteristics that have an extremely low sensitivity to thetemperature. Therefore, the potential change of the word line withrespect to the temperature change is very small, and the pull-downcircuit can be configured to follow only the changes in thresholdvoltage of the memory cell transistor. More specifically, the pull-downelement is formed of a transistor similar to the memory cell transistor.Thereby, the voltage level of the word line can be adjusted according tothe variations in threshold voltage of the memory cell transistor. Whenthe pull-down element is formed of an N-channel MOS transistor, andparticularly is at a low temperature, a threshold voltage Vth is high,but a mobility is also high so that a value of a current flowing throughthe N-channel MOS transistor for the pull-down does not change to alarge extent. Conversely, when the temperature is high, thresholdvoltage Vth of the N-channel MOS transistor lowers, and the mobilityalso lowers so that the current hardly changes similarly to the above.Accordingly, the temperature dependence of the potential of selectedword line can be eliminated, and the potential of selected word line canbe set to an optimum value depending on the threshold voltage of thememory cell in a wide temperature range.

The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of thepresent invention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of the present invention when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically shows a whole structure of a semiconductor memorydevice according to the invention.

FIG. 2 shows by way of example a structure of a memory cell shown inFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates a voltage level of a selected word line in theinvention.

FIG. 4 illustrates a static noise margin of the memory cell,

FIG. 5 shows a structure of a driver power supply circuit according to afirst embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 schematically shows a structure of a pull-down transistor shownin FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 illustrates a relationship between a driver power supply voltageand a threshold voltage of a memory cell transistor in the firstembodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 8A and 8B schematically show plane layouts of a resistance elementand the memory cell transistor shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 9 shows a structure of a driver power supply circuit according to asecond embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 10 illustrates a relationship between a threshold voltage of atransistor in a memory cell of the driver power supply circuit shown inFIG. 9 and a driver power supply voltage.

FIG. 11 illustrates a relationship between a gate voltage of eachpull-down transistor shown in FIG. 9 and a drive current of the eachtransistor.

FIG. 12 shows a structure of a driver power supply circuit according toa third embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 13 shows a structure of a driver power supply circuit according toa fourth embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 14A-14C illustrate relationships in size between two resistanceelements and a memory cell transistor shown in FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 shows a structure of a driver power supply circuit according toa fifth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 16 shows a structure of a driver power supply circuit of a firstmodification of the fifth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 17 shows a structure of a driver power supply circuit of a secondmodification of the fifth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 18 shows a structure of a driver power supply circuit according toa sixth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 19 is a list illustrating logic of a control signal and details ofoperations of the driver power supply circuit shown in FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 shows by way of example a structure of a unit generating thecontrol signal shown in FIG. 18.

FIG. 21 shows by way of example a switch circuit of a pull-downtransistor shown in FIG. 18.

FIG. 22 schematically shows a structure of an array of a semiconductormemory device according to a sixth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 23 schematically shows a plane layout of respective components in achip arrangement shown in FIG. 22.

FIG. 24 schematically shows a sectional structure of a polycrystallinesilicon interconnection in a silicided region and an anti-silicideregion shown in FIG. 23.

FIG. 25 shows a modification of a diffusion resistor shown in FIG. 23.

FIG. 26 shows a structure of a memory cell in a semiconductor memorydevice according to a seventh embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 27 schematically shows a structure of a driver power supply circuitaccording to a seventh embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 28-31 show major structures of semiconductor memory devicesaccording to eighth to eleventh embodiments of the invention,respectively.

FIG. 32 is a graph illustrating potentials of nodes A and B in a gatecontrol circuit 141.

FIG. 33 shows a major structure of a semiconductor memory deviceaccording to a twelfth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 34 is a graph illustrating a relationship between a shift quantityof a gate length of a pull-down transistor 21 with respect to resistancevalues of resistance elements 226 and 228 as well as a voltage VG on aninternal node 25.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Whole Structure

FIG. 1 schematically shows a whole structure of a semiconductor memorydevice according to the invention. The semiconductor memory deviceincludes a memory cell array 1 having memory cells MC arranged in rowsand columns. In an example of memory cell array 1 shown in FIG. 1,memory cells MC are arranged in (n+1) rows and (m+1) columns.

Word lines WL0-WLn are arranged corresponding to the respective rows ofmemory cells MC. Each memory cell MC is connected to the word line inthe corresponding row. Bit line pairs BL0 and /BL0-BLm and BLm arearranged corresponding to respective columns of memory cells MC. Eachmemory cell MC is a static memory cell as will be described later indetails, and transmits complementary data to/from complementary bit linepair BLi and /BLi (i=0-m).

A bit line load (BL load) BQ is arranged corresponding to each of bitline pairs BL0 and /BL0-BLm and /BLm. This bit line load BQ pulls up thepotential of the corresponding bit line in a data read operation, andsupplies a column current to the corresponding bit line pair in theoperation of reading memory cell data.

The semiconductor memory device further includes a row decoder 2 thatproduces a row select signal according to an internal row address signalRA, and a word line drive circuit 3 that drives the word line selectedin memory array 1 to a selected state. Row decoder 2 receives a powersupply voltage VDD as its operation power supply voltage, and decodesinternal row address signal RA to produce a row select signal.

Word line drive circuit 3 includes word line drivers WDR0-WDRn that arearranged corresponding to word lines WL0-WLn, and drive thecorresponding word lines according to the row select signal providedfrom row decoder 2, respectively. Each of word line drivers WDR0-WDRnreceives a driver power supply voltage VDDR as its operation powersupply voltage, and transmits a driver power supply voltage onto thecorresponding word line when the corresponding word line is to beselected.

Driver power supply voltage VDDR is provided from a driver power supplycircuit 10 having a structure to be described later in detail. Driverpower supply circuit 10 shifts down the level of power supply voltageVDD to produce driver power supply voltage VDDR. Driver power supplycircuit 10 adjusts the level of driver power supply voltage VDDR in amanner linked to the characteristics of the transistors included inmemory cell MC. The relationship between the level of driver powersupply voltage VDDR and the characteristics of the transistors in memorycell MC will be described later in detail.

The semiconductor memory device further includes a column select circuit4 that selects the bit line pair corresponding to the selected columnaccording to an internal column address signal CA, a write circuit 5that transmits the write data to the bit line pair corresponding to thecolumn selected by column select circuit 4 in the data write operation,a read circuit 6 that produces read data by sensing and, amplifying thedata provided from the bit line pair corresponding to the columnselected by column select circuit 4 in the data read operation, and amain control circuit 7 that produces internal row address signal RA,internal column address signal CA and control signals required forvarious operations according to an address signal AD, a writeinstructing signal WE and a chip enable signal CE that are externallyapplied.

This main control circuit 7 produces a word line activation timingsignal, a column select timing signal and the like to define operationtiming and operation sequences of row decoder 2 and column selectcircuit 4.

Write circuit 5 includes an input buffer and a write drive circuit, andproduces an internal write data according to externally provided writedata DI. Read circuit 6 includes a sense amplifier circuit and an outputbuffer. In the data read operation, the output buffer further buffersinternal data sensed and amplified by the sense amplifier circuit toproduce external read data DO.

An array power supply circuit 8 is further arranged for memory cellarray 1. Array power supply circuit 8 supplies an array power supplyvoltage via cell power supply lines PVL to high-side power supply nodesof memory cells MC. In the structure shown in FIG. 1, cell power supplylines PVL are divided corresponding to the memory cell columns,respectively. Array power supply circuit 8 may be configured to supplythe array power supply voltage commonly to cell power supply lines PVL.Cell power supply lines PVL may be configured to transmit low-side powersupply voltages of the memory cells, or to transmit high- and low-sidepower supply voltages. The high-side power supply voltage is higher thanthe low-side power supply voltage.

The array power supply voltage supplied from array power supply circuit8 in the standby state may be at the same voltage level as power supplyvoltage VDD that is supplied to driver power supply circuit 10 and rowdecoder 2, or may be different from it.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the structure of memory cell MC shown inFIG. 1. In FIG. 2, memory cell MC has a structure of a full CMOSsingle-port SRAM cell. In FIG. 2, memory cell MC includes a P-channelMOS transistor PQ1 that is connected between a high-side power supplynode VH and a storage node ND1, and has a gate connected to a storagenode ND2, an N-channel MOS transistor NQ1 that is connected betweenstorage node ND1 and a low-side power supply node VL, and has a gateconnected to storage node ND2, a P-channel MOS transistor PQ2 that isconnected between high-side power supply node VH and storage node ND2,and has a gate connected to storage node ND1, an N-channel MOStransistor NQ2 that is connected between storage node ND2 and low-sidepower supply node VL, and has a gate connected to storage node ND1, andN-channel MOS transistors NQ3 and NQ4 that couple storage nodes ND1 andND2 to bit lines BL and /BL according to the voltage applied to wordline WL, respectively.

Word line WL is one of word lines WL0-WLn shown in FIG. 1, and bit linepair BL and /BL is one of bit line pairs BL0 and BL0-BLm and BLm shownin FIG. 1.

In the structure of memory cell MC shown in FIG. 2, MOS transistors PQ1and NQ1 form a CMOS inverter, and MOS transistors PQ2 and NQ2 form aCMOS inverter. These inverters have inputs and outputs that arecross-coupled to form an inverter latch (flip-flop). Storage nodes ND1and ND2 hold complementary data. Margins in the operations of writingand reading data depend on the data holding capability of this inverterlatch.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of the voltage level of selected word lineWL. In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, power supply voltage VDD is1.2 V. Power supply voltage VDD is merely required to be low, and is notrestricted to 1.2 V. When word line WL is to be selected, driver powersupply voltage VDDR is transmitted onto it via corresponding word linedriver WDR (one of WDR0-WDRn). A difference ΔV between power supplyvoltage VDD and driver power supply voltage VDDR changes in a mannerlinked to changes in threshold Vthn of N-channel MOS transistors NQ1-NQ4included in memory cell MC. The voltage level of selected word line WLis set to a voltage level lower than power supply voltage VDD, whereby aread margin of the memory cell is ensured in the data read operation.

FIG. 4 illustrates transmission characteristics of an inverter of memorycell MC. The transmission characteristics in FIG. 4 are input/outputtransmission characteristics of two CMOS inverters included in thememory cell. Curves ND1 and ND2 of solid line in FIG. 4 represent thetransmission characteristics of storage nodes ND1 and ND2 exhibited whenselected word line WL is at the level of power supply voltage VDD. Astatic noise margin SNM is represented by a diagonal of a solid-linesquare between curves ND1 and ND2 (or a diameter of an inscribedcircle).

On the transmission characteristic curve illustrated in FIG. 4, when thethreshold voltage of the load transistors (PQ1 and PQ2) in the memorycell increase in absolute value, an input logical threshold of theinverter in the memory cell shifts to a higher side. In this state, thecurrent drive power of the load transistors (PQ1 and PQ2) decreases, andthe current drive power of the access transistors (NQ3 and NQ4) maycause strong discharging of the output node of one inverter to destroythe held data. Therefore, the data holding characteristics deteriorateto reduce the width between transmission curves ND1 and ND2 of solidlines, and thus to reduce static noise margin SNM.

In this state, the voltage level of the selected word line is set viaword line driver WDR to driver power supply voltage VDDR lower thanpower supply voltage VDD.

When the threshold voltages of drive transistors (NQ1 and NQ2) in thememory cell are low, the drive transistors have large current drivepowers, and the potentials of high-side storage nodes in memory cell MCare liable to be discharged. In this case, the width between thetransmission characteristic curves of storage nodes ND1 and ND2decreases, and static noise margin SNM decreases. In this state, wordline WL is set to the level of driver power supply voltage VDDR lowerthan power supply voltage VDD. This setting decreases conductances ofaccess transistors (NQ3 and NQ4), and increases the resistances betweenstorage nodes ND1 and ND2 and bit lines BL and /BL in the memory cell.Thereby, floating of the potentials of internal storage nodes ND1 andND2 is suppressed (i.e., in the word line select operation, pull-up ofthe storage node by the access transistor becomes weak).

Therefore, as represented by curves ND2A and ND1A, discharging of thestorage node voltage starts rapidly in response to a small change, andthe width between the input/output transmission characteristic curvesincreases. Thus, static noise margin SNM increases. Therefore, a voltagestep-down quantity ΔV is set in a manner linked to changes in thresholdvoltage of drive transistors (NQ1 and NQ2) and/or access transistors(NQ3 and NQ4) in the memory cell. Thereby, the conductance of the accesstransistor can be adjusted to increase the read margin so that the datareading can be performed stably.

When drive transistors NQ1 and NQ2 in the memory cell have largethreshold voltages Vthn, these have small current drive powers and largeon-resistances. In this case, therefore, voltage step-down quantity ΔVis decreased. In the state where drive transistors NQ1 and NQ2 have highthreshold voltages Vthn as described above, the potential level of thestorage node holding the H-level does not change even when the potentialof the internal node, i.e., storage node at the L-level floats, andstatic noise margin SNM is originally large. Therefore, when voltagestep-down quantity ΔV is small, the conductance of the access transistorslightly decreases to improve the static noise margin. When thresholdvoltage Vthn of the drive transistor of the memory cell shifts to ahigher side, static noise margin SNM sufficiently increases, andexcessive improvement is not necessary. In this case, voltage step-downquantity ΔV of voltage VDDR transmitted onto the selected word line isdecreased.

When threshold voltages Vthn of drive transistors NQ1 and NQ2 in thememory cell are low, a problem does not arise even if the select voltageof the word line is set to a low voltage level, because the write marginis originally large in this state. When threshold voltages Vthn of drivetransistors NQ1 and NQ2 of the memory cell shift toward a higher side,driver power supply voltage VDDR transmitted onto the selected word lineshifts to a higher side, and thus shifts to improve the write margin.

In the data read operation, as described above, when word line WL isdriven to the selected state, driver power supply voltage VDDR suppliedby driver power supply circuit 10 is at a lower level than power supplyvoltage VDD. In response to the driving of word line WL to the selected,bit lines BL and /BL are coupled to storage nodes ND1 and ND2 of theselected memory cell, respectively, and the voltage levels thereofchange depending on the storage data of the selected memory cell. In thememory cell, a column current supplied via the bit line raises thevoltage level of storage node ND1 or ND2 that holds the L-level data.Even in this case, voltage level VDDR of selected word line WL is setaccording to threshold voltages Vthn of drive transistors (NQ1 and NQ2).Therefore, by adjusting the conductances of access transistors NQ3 andNQ4, static noise margin SNM of the memory cell can be ensuredsufficiently so that the data can be read stably, and data destructiondoes not occur.

In the data write operation, driver power supply circuit 10 likewisesets word line WL to the level of voltage VDDR lower than power supplyvoltage VDD. In this case, the voltage level of selected word line WL isset in a manner linked to threshold voltages Vthn of drive transistorsNQ1 and NQ2 in the memory cell, whereby the write margin can besufficiently ensured, and the accurate data writing can be performedfast.

Driver power supply circuit 10 adjusts the voltage level of supplyvoltage (driver power supply voltage) VDDR according to the thresholdvoltage characteristics of the drive or access transistors in the memorycell. Thereby, the write and read margins of the memory cell arecorrected according to the threshold voltages of the memory cell so thatthe data can be written and read fast and stably. The voltage adjustingoperation of driver power supply voltage VDDR automatically performscorrection on variations in write margin that may be caused by processvariations in threshold voltage of drive transistors NQ1 and NQ2 in thememory cell.

Particularly, this driver power supply circuit 10 can use a passiveresistance element to be described below as a voltage down-converterelement. Thereby, variations in temperature characteristics of driverpower supply circuit 10 can be small, and voltage step-down quantity ΔVcan be set in a manner correctly linked to variations in thresholdvoltage of the drive and access transistors in the memory cell thatdepend on the temperature. The internal structure of driver power supplycircuit 10 will now be described in detail.

First Embodiment

FIG. 5 schematically shows a major structure of the semiconductor memorydevice according to a first embodiment of the invention. In an exampleof memory cell array 1 shown in FIG. 5, memory cells MC are arranged infour rows and one column, and word lines WL0-WL3 are arrangedcorresponding to the respective rows. Word line drive circuit 3 includesword line drivers WDR0-WDR3 corresponding to word lines WL0-WL3,respectively. Driver power supply circuit 10 is provided with a seriesconnection of a resistance element 20 and a pull-down element 21 sharedamong word line drivers WDR0-WDR3. For example, resistance element 20employs an N+ polycrystalline silicon interconnection. Preferably, thisresistance element is a non-silicide N+ polycrystalline siliconinterconnection. Resistance element 20 that employs a passive elementinstead of a transistor can offer an advantage that a resistance valuethereof does not change to a large extent even when a temperaturechanges. Pull-down element 21 is formed of an N-channel MOS transistorreceiving power supply voltage VDD on its gate. This pull-down element21 has the same threshold voltage characteristics as the N-channel MOStransistors (access and drive transistors) in memory cell MC, becausethe transistor forming the pull-down element is formed in the samemanufacturing process as the memory cell.

As shown in FIG. 6, pull-down element 21 is formed of a plurality ofunit transistors UTR0-UTRk connected together in parallel. Each of unittransistors UTR0-UTRk has the same size (the same ratio between a gatewidth and a gate length) as the access or drive transistor in memorycell MC. Since the plurality of transistors each having a relativelysmall current drive power similarly to the transistors in memory cell MCare arranged in parallel, pull-down transistor 21 can have a requiredcurrent drive power.

Pull-down transistor 21 is an N-channel MOS transistor, and has amobility that rises simultaneously with the rising of threshold voltageVthn when the temperature is low. Therefore, the value of current forpulling down the voltage on a driver power supply line 11 do not changeto a large extent. Conversely, at a high temperature, threshold voltageVthn of this pull-down transistor lowers, and the mobility lowers withit so that the current does not change to a large extent. Whenresistance element 20 is formed of a non-silicide resistor of N+ dopedpolycrystalline silicon, sensitivity (a ratio of change in resistancevalue with respect to a temperature) is very small according to itstemperature characteristics, although the resistance rises slightly at ahigh temperature. Therefore, owing to use of the series connection ofresistance element 20 and pull-down transistor 21, driver power supplycircuit 10 can have the sensitivity that changes only slightly withrespect to the temperature, and is sufficiently large only with respectto the changes in threshold voltage Vthn of the access or drivetransistor in memory cell MC.

Driver power supply voltage VDDR of driver power supply line 11 can beexpressed by the following equation:

VDDR=VDD−I×R

where I represents a current flowing through pull-down element 21.

FIG. 7 is a characteristic diagram illustrating a relationship betweenthe word line voltage (driver power supply voltage VDDR) and thresholdvoltage Vthn of the memory cell transistor in the structure employingthe driver power supply circuit shown in FIG. 5. In FIG. 7, the abscissagives threshold voltage Vthn (volts) of the N-channel MOS transistor inthe memory cell, and the ordinate gives the word line voltage (volts),i.e., driver power supply voltage VDDR. For comparison purposes, FIG. 7also illustrates the characteristic curve exhibited when a PMOStransistor is used as the load transistor instead of resistance element20

In a state T, ideal values (design values) are attained in the pull-downMOS transistor. In a state S, the pull-down MOS transistor is in a slowstate, i.e., the threshold voltage is large. In a state F, the pull-downtransistor is in a fast state, i.e., the threshold voltage is low. Thecharacteristic curves are represented at 125 degrees C. and −40 degreesC. As can be seen from the characteristic curves of solid lines in FIG.7, a difference does not substantially occur between the characteristiccurves at the respective temperatures of 125 degrees C. and −40 degreesC., and the characteristic curves indicating substantially the sametemperature dependence can be achieved. As illustrated in FIG. 7, whenthe memory cell transistor (access transistor or drive transistor) has ahigh threshold voltage and is in state S, pull-down element 21 enters aslow state and the drive current quantity is small so that resistanceelement 20 steps down the voltage only to a small extent, and the wordline voltage rises. Conversely, when the memory cell transistor entersfast state F of a low threshold voltage, the drive current quantity ofpull-down transistor 21 increases according to state F, and resistanceelement 20 steps down the voltage to a large extent, and the word linevoltage lowers.

In the case illustrated for the comparison purposes, the PMOS load isused, and driver power supply voltage VDDR is set by the resistancedivision between the pull-down element and the PMOS load. In this case,the following problem occurs. At a low temperature, the voltage level ofdriver power supply voltage VDDR lowers to a higher extent than that ata high temperature, and the write characteristics and read current atthe low temperature lower. Therefore, the read margin may be improved,but the correct operations at a high speed may be impossible for thefollowing reason.

The P- and N-channel MOS transistors have different temperaturecharacteristics, respectively. More specifically, at a low temperature,the P-channel MOS transistor has a threshold voltage of a large absolutevalue and a drive current smaller than that at a high temperature.Therefore, when driver power supply voltage VDDR is set using P- andN-channel MOS transistors, the temperature characteristics of theP-channel MOS transistor affect to a larger extent, and driver powersupply voltage VDDR lowers to a large extent at a low temperature, ascan be seen from the characteristic curve of alternate long and shortdash line in FIG. 7. The memory cell transistors (access and drivetransistors) are N-channel MOS transistors. Therefore, it is preferablein characteristics of the memory cell to lower the word line voltage asfar as possible in the read operation at a high temperature, and tosuppress lowering of the word line voltage (driver power supply voltageVDDR) at a low temperature. When the above PMOS load is employed,however, the word line voltage (driver power supply voltage VDDR)significantly lowers at a low temperature as illustrated in FIG. 7, andthe word line voltage control opposite to the ideal control is achieved.

Owing to use of the above passive resistance element (heavily dopedN-type polycrystalline silicon (non-silicide) resistor), therefore, adifference hardly occurs in word line voltage characteristics due to thetemperature, and the word line voltage (driver power supply voltageVDDR) can be set according to threshold voltage Vthn of the memorytransistor so that the selected word line voltage can be set to theoptimum voltage level within a wide temperature range.

More specifically, when the access and drive transistors in the memorycell have high threshold voltages, and the memory cell has a smallstatic noise margin, the word line voltage is increased. Conversely,when the access and drive transistors in the memory cell have lowthreshold voltages, the word line voltage is decreased. Thereby, thestatic noise margin is improved, and the fast writing can be performed.The temperature does not cause a difference in word line voltage, andcan suppress excessive lowering of the word line voltage at a lowtemperature.

In an example of the state illustrated in FIG. 7, a resistance value Rof resistance element 20 lowers about 20% when threshold voltage Vthn ofthe MOS transistor increases (state S). When threshold voltage Vthnlowers, resistance value R of resistance element 20 increases about 20%.Since resistance element 20 is formed in the same step as the gateelectrode of the memory cell transistor as described below (although thesiliciding step is not performed on the resistance element), theresistance value reflects an influence of the change in a ratio betweenthe gate width and length (channel length and width) of the MOStransistor so that the above changes in resistance value R occurs.

FIGS. 8A and 8B show, by way of example, structures of resistanceelement 20 and a memory cell transistor MTR, respectively. Memory celltransistor MTR is an N-channel MOS transistor, and is the access ordrive transistor. Memory cell transistor MTR has impurity regions IMR1and IMR2 as well as a gate electrode G arranged between impurity regionsIMR1 and IMR2. A channel is formed under gate electrode G. The channelregion has a channel width W and a channel length L. Channel length Lcorresponds to a width of gate electrode G.

Resistance element 20 is formed of an interconnection IL having a lengthequal to the channel length L of gate electrode G. Interconnection IL isa heavily doped N-type polycrystalline silicon interconnection,similarly to gate electrode G, but is a non-silicide resistor. Gateelectrode G is silicided after preparing it made of polycrystallinesilicon. This siliciding forms a depletion layer in the gate electrodeof polycrystalline silicon, and the depletion layer prevents flow of aleak current, and increases the current drive power. The silicide gateelectrode is a metal gate electrode, and has a small resistance value.For obtaining a sufficiently large resistance value, the siliciding ismasked, and the heavily doped N-type polycrystalline siliconinterconnection is used as the resistance element.

Further, resistance element 20 reflects variations in doping dose ofimpurity regions IMR1 and IMR2 of memory cell transistor MTR. Morespecifically, impurity regions IMR1 and IMR2 in memory cell transistorMTR undergo the impurity implantation using gate electrode G as a mask.Since interconnection IL of resistance element 20 and gate electrode Gare formed in the same process, interconnection IL of resistance element20 is subjected the impurity doping similarly to gate electrode G whenimpurity regions IMR1 and IMR2 are being formed. Therefore, thefollowing effects can be expected.

As already described, the operation margin of the memory cell issensitive to threshold voltage Vthn of the N-channel MOS transistor inthe memory cell. When threshold voltage Vthn lowers, static noise marginSNM deteriorates. Conversely, when threshold voltage Vthn rises, staticnoise margin SNM is improved. It can be considered that variations inimplantation dose of the impurity and variations in gate interconnectionwidth (channel length) L cause the above variations in threshold voltageVthn. In particular, according to the channel characteristics, thevariations in channel length L significantly affect the variations inthreshold voltage Vthn. As gate interconnection width (channel length) Ldecreases, threshold voltage Vthn lowers according to short channelroll-off characteristics. Conversely, when channel length L increases,threshold voltage Vthn rises. In view of the above, the followingrelationship can be achieved by providing resistance element 20 formedof the same polycrystalline silicon interconnection.

(i) Gate length L of memory cell transistor MTR decreases:

In this case, threshold voltage Vthn of memory cell transistor MTRlowers, and the resistance value of polycrystalline siliconinterconnection IL rises. Therefore, resistance value R of resistanceelement 20 increases so that driver power supply voltage VDDR lowers.(In this state, threshold voltage Vthn of pull-down transistor 21 haslowered, and the current drive quantity has increased.)

(ii) Gate interconnection width (channel length) L increases:

In this case, threshold voltage Vthn of memory cell transistor MTRrises, and the resistance value of polycrystalline siliconinterconnection IL lowers. Therefore, the drive current quantity ofpull-down transistor 21 lowers. As a result of this lowering as well asthe lowering of quantity of the current flowing through resistanceelement 20, the voltage step-down quantity of driver power supplyvoltage VDDR becomes small, and driver power supply voltage VDDR is setto a relatively high voltage level.

In addition to the adjustment of the current quantity by pull-downtransistor 21, heavily doped N-type polycrystalline siliconinterconnection IL of non-silicide is used as resistance element 20, andpolycrystalline silicon interconnection IL has the interconnection widthsubstantially equal to channel length L of memory cell transistor MTR.Thereby, the select voltage level of word line WL can be set to theoptimum value while keeping higher sensitivity to variations inthreshold voltage of memory cell transistor MTR.

According to the first embodiment of the invention, as described above,the voltage on the power supply node of the word line driver is setusing the resistance element formed of the passive element other thanthe transistor as well as the pull-down transistor operating in a mannerlinked to the threshold characteristics of the memory cell transistor,and thereby the level of the voltage transmitted onto the selected wordline is adjusted. Therefore, the temperature dependence of word linedriver power supply voltage VDDR is reduced, and, driver power supplyvoltage VDDR can be set to the voltage level accurately linked to thevariations in threshold voltage of the memory cell transistor. Thereby,the word line select voltage can be set to the optimum value within awide temperature range in a manner linked to variations in thresholdvoltage of the memory cell transistor.

In particular, by employing the resistance element having the same widthas the gate electrode of the memory cell transistor, it is possible tochange the resistance value of the resistance element in a manner linkedto variations in threshold voltage of the memory cell transistor, andthe voltage on the selected word line can be adjusted more accurately.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 9 shows a structure of driver power supply circuit 10 according toa second embodiment of the invention. In FIG. 9, driver power supplycircuit 10 includes resistance element 20 connected between the powersupply node and driver power supply line 11, and pull-down transistor 21connected between driver power supply line 11 and a ground node.Resistance element 20 and pull-down transistor 21 have the samestructures as those in the first embodiment. Therefore, pull-downtransistor 21 is formed of the unit transistors (UTRs) of K in numberconnected in parallel.

Driver power supply circuit 10 further includes an N-channel MOStransistor 22 that is connected between the power supply node and aninternal node 25, and has a gate connected to the power supply node, andan N-channel MOS transistor 24 that is connected between internal node25 and the ground node, and has a gate connected to internal node 25.These transistors 21, 22 and 24 form a pull-down circuit that lowers thevoltage level of voltage VDDR on the driver power supply line.

Similarly to pull-down transistor 21, N-channel MOS transistor 22 hassubstantially the same threshold voltage characteristics as the memorycell transistor, and is formed of unit transistors (UTRs) of K in numberconnected in parallel. N-channel MOS transistor 24 is formed of a logictransistor, and does not accurately reflect the variations in thresholdvoltage of the memory cell transistor. When this semiconductor memorydevice is integrated on the same semiconductor chip as a logic circuitsuch as another processor, logic transistor 24 has the same structureand sizes as a transistor which is a component of this logic circuit.

The logic transistor is different in gate length and impurityimplantation dose from the memory cell transistors (access and drivetransistors). However, when it is regarded as the N-channel MOStransistor, the threshold voltage has the same temperaturecharacteristics as the memory cell transistor.

Internal node 25 is connected to a gate of pull-down transistor 21, ofwhich gate voltage VG is adjusted by a ratio between on-resistances oftransistors 22 and 24.

When threshold voltage Vthn of the N-channel MOS transistor of memorycell MC lowers, the threshold voltage of MOS transistor 22 likewiselowers to increase its supply current quantity. A current-voltageconverting function of MOS transistor 24 raises the voltage level ofgate voltage VG on node 25. Thereby, the conductance of pull-downtransistor 21 lowers, and the voltage step-down quantity in resistanceelement 20 increases so that the voltage level of driver power supplyvoltage VDDR lowers. In this case, MOS transistor 24 does not reflectthe variations in threshold voltage of the memory cell transistor.Accordingly, the variations in threshold voltage of the memory celltransistor is reflected in MOS transistor 22, but is not reflected inMOS transistor 24. Therefore, the variations in threshold voltage of thememory cell transistors are not cancelled in these transistors 22 and24, and the conductance of pull-down transistor 21 can be adjusted byproducing gate voltage VG of the pull-down transistor that accuratelyreflects the threshold voltage variations of the memory cell transistor.

When the N-channel MOS transistors (access and drive transistors) ofmemory cell MC have high threshold voltages Vthn, MOS transistor 22likewise has a high threshold voltage so that the supply currentquantity of MOS transistor 22 decreases. Thereby, the drive current ofMOS transistor 24 lowers, and the voltage level of gate voltage VG oninternal node 25 lowers. Thereby, the conductance of pull-downtransistor 21 increases, and the quantity of current flowing throughresistance element 20 lowers so that the voltage step-down quantity ofresistance element 20 decreases, and the voltage level of driver powersupply voltage VDDR rises.

Therefore, the voltage level of driver power supply voltage VDDR can becorrected depending on threshold voltage Vthn of the N-channel MOStransistor in memory cell MC without deteriorating the writecharacteristics and the read current while ensuring the static noisemargin.

The following problem arises if MOS transistor 24 is formed of atransistor having the same threshold voltage characteristics as thememory cell transistor. The variations in threshold voltage of MOStransistor 22 and the variations in threshold voltage of MOS transistor24 cause canceling of the variation components of the on-resistanceratio, and it is impossible to change the level of voltage VG oninternal node 25 by reflecting the threshold voltage variations. Byemploying MOS transistor 24 formed of a logic transistor (i.e., atransistor forming a peripheral circuit or a transistor forming aprocessor or a logic circuit provided with the semiconductor memorydevice) different from the memory cell transistor, it is possible toadjust gate voltage VG of pull-down transistor 21 by reflecting thethreshold voltage variations of the memory cell transistor at MOStransistor 22 connected in source follower manner.

At a low temperature, the supply current quantity of MOS transistor 22does not change to a large extent. When the threshold voltage of MOStransistor 24 formed of the logic transistor lowers, the current-voltageconverting function lowers the voltage level of gate voltage VG oninternal node 25. MOS transistor 24 operates in a saturation region, andthe drive current quantity is proportional to a square of a differencebetween gate voltage VG and the threshold voltage of MOS transistor 24.At a low temperature, therefore, the conductance of MOS transistor 21becomes small, and the quantity of current flowing through resistanceelement 20 lowers (i.e., the on-resistance of MOS transistor 21increases) so that driver power supply voltage VDDR shifts to a higherside. At a low temperature, therefore, voltage VDDR of word line WLshifts to a higher side as a whole within a variation range of theN-channel MOS transistors (access and drive transistors) in memory cellMC. Thereby, the word line voltage is set to correct the writecharacteristics and the read current to prevent deteriorations thereofto a further extent, and the operation temperature range is enlarged.

FIG. 10 illustrates a relationship between the threshold voltage and theproduced voltage of driver power supply circuit 10 shown in FIG. 9. Forcomparison purposes, FIG. 10 also illustrates characteristics exhibitedwhen resistance element 20 is replaced with a P-channel MOS transistor.

In FIG. 10, the abscissa gives threshold voltage Vthn (volts) of thememory cell transistor, and the ordinate gives driver power supplyvoltage VDDR (volts), i.e., the word line voltage.

In FIG. 10, when the temperature is low (−40 degrees C.), driver powersupply voltage VDDR is set to a level higher than that at a hightemperature (125 degrees C.). At either of the low and hightemperatures, driver power supply voltage VDDR shifts to a lower side asthreshold voltage Vthn decreases. Therefore, the voltage on the selectedword line is adjusted to decrease with the lowering of the thresholdvoltage of the memory cell transistor. Conversely, when the P-channelMOS transistor is used as the load transistor, the voltage of selectedword line in a low-temperature operation is lower than that in ahigh-temperature operation so that the voltage on the selected word linemay excessively lower at a low temperature, and a stable operation maynot be ensured. In the second embodiment, however, N-channel MOStransistor 22 is used for setting the gate voltage of the pull-downtransistor at a low temperature as already described the voltage of,selected word line at a low temperature can be set higher than that at ahigh temperature, and ideal correction of the voltage of selected wordline can be performed.

In FIG. 9, both the drain and gate of MOS transistor 22 are coupled tothe same power supply node. However, MOS transistor 22 is merelyrequired to operate in a source follower mode, and the gate potentialthereof may be set to a fixed voltage level lower than the potential ofthe drain node.

FIG. 11 illustrates a relationship between the supply current andvoltage VG of MOS transistors 22 and 24 shown in FIG. 9. The abscissagives gate voltage VG, and the ordinate gives supply currents Idd andIss of transistors 22 and 24. Curves I and II represent supply currentsIdd and Iss in a slow (low speed: S) state of MOS transistors 22 and 24,respectively. Curves III and IV represent supply currents Idd and Iss ina fast (high speed: F) state of MOS transistors 22 and 24, respectively.A crossing point of curves I and II of currents Idd and Iss in the slowstate indicates an operation current at an operation point, and acrossing point of curves III and IV in the fast state indicates theoperation current at the operation point. For example, gate voltage VGis 0.677 V in the slow state, and is 0.718 V in the fast state.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, when the N-channel MOS transistors change tothe fast state (in which the threshold voltage is small), the currentdrive power of MOS transistor 22 increases, and the operation point(crossing point between curves DI and IV) Vg of gate voltage VG shiftsto a higher side. When N-channel MOS transistors 22 and 24 change to theslow state, the current drive power of N-channel MOS transistor 22decreases, and operation point Vg of gate voltage VG shifts to a lowerside. Therefore, in the fast state where the memory cell transistor hasa low threshold voltage, gate voltage VG is increased, and driver powersupply voltage VDDR is lowered. When threshold voltage Vthn of thememory cell transistor shifts to a slow side, i.e., when thresholdvoltage Vthn shifts to a higher side, the current drive power of MOStransistor 22 decreases so that gate voltage VG lowers, and driver powersupply voltage VDDR rises.

In the low-temperature operation, the current drive powers of N-channelMOS transistors 22 and 24 are slightly larger than those in thehigh-temperature operation although the temperature dependence thereofis small. MOS transistor 24 operates in a resistance mode, and theresistance value thereof becomes low at a low temperature so that thevoltage level of gate voltage VG on internal node 25 lowers. Thereby,driver power supply voltage VDDR in the low-temperature operation is atthe level shifted to a higher side than that in the high-temperatureoperation.

According to the second embodiment of the invention, as described above,the gate voltage of pull-down transistor 21 that sets driver powersupply voltage VDDR is further adjusted according to variations inthreshold voltage of the memory cell transistor, and the voltage ofselected word line can be accurately adjusted according to the thresholdvoltage of the memory cell transistor.

Further, the driver power supply voltage in the low-temperatureoperation can be set to the voltage level higher than that in thehigh-temperature operation, and the stable operation can be performedeven at the low temperature so that it is possible to achieve thesemiconductor memory device that operates stably over a wide operationtemperature range.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 12 schematically shows a structure of driver power supply circuit10 according to a third embodiment of the invention. FIG. 12 likewiseshows word line drivers WDR0-WDR3 in word line drive circuit 3, alsoshows memory cells MC arranged in four rows and one column in memorycell array 1 and word lines WL0-WL3 corresponding to the respectiverows.

Driver power supply circuit 10 in FIG. 12 differs from driver powersupply circuit 10 shown in FIG. 9 in the following structure. Aresistance element 26 is used in stead of N-channel MOS transistor 24formed of the logic transistor. Similarly to resistance element 20,resistance element 26 has an interconnection width equal to the gatelength (channel length) of the N-channel MOS transistor in memory cellMC (see FIG. 8). Other structures of driver power supply circuit 10shown in FIG. 12 are the same as those of the driver power supplycircuit shown in FIG. 9. The corresponding portions bear the samereference numbers, and description thereof is not repeated.

In the structure shown in FIG. 12, MOS transistors 21 and 22 as well asresistance element 26 form a pull-down circuit. MOS transistor 22 ismerely required to operate in the source follow mode, and may have agate and a drain connected to different voltage levels, respectively,similarly to the second embodiment (such that a gate potential is at alevel lower than a drain voltage).

In driver power supply circuit 10 shown in FIG. 12, resistance element20 and pull-down transistor 21 adjust driver power supply voltage VDDRin the same manner as the second embodiment. MOS transistor 22 issubstantially the same as that in the second embodiment, and thus isformed of the unit transistors of K in number connected in parallel.Resistance element 26 is formed of N-type heavily doped (N+)polycrystalline silicon non-silicide interconnection. Therefore, in thecircuit formed of MOS transistor 22 and resistance element 26, thetemperature dependence of the supply current can be substantiallyeliminated, and thereby the temperature dependence of gate voltage VG oninternal node 25 can be substantially eliminated.

More specifically, it is assumed that gate length (channel length) L ofthe memory cell transistor is small. In this case, threshold voltageVthn of the N-channel MOS transistor in memory cell MC lowers. Thereby,the threshold voltage of MOS transistor 22 lowers to increase its supplycurrent quantity. In this state, the interconnection width of resistanceelement 26 increases so that a resistance value R2 thereof increases.Therefore, the voltage level of gate voltage VG on internal node 25rises. Thereby, the conductance of pull-down transistor 21 increases,and driver power supply voltage VDDR lowers. Therefore, when thresholdvoltage Vthn of the access or drive transistor in memory cell MC lowers,the voltage transmitted onto the selected word line can be loweredcorresponding to it.

It is now assumed that gate length (channel length) L of the transistorin memory cell MC increases. In this case, the threshold voltage of theaccess or drive transistor in memory cell MC increases. Thereby, thethreshold voltage of MOS transistor 22 increases, and the drive currentquantity lowers. In resistance element 26, the interconnection widthincreases, and the resistance value lowers. Therefore, the voltage levelof gate voltage VG on internal node 25 lowers, and the conductance ofpull-down transistor 21 lowers. Thereby, the voltage level of driverpower supply voltage VDDR rises. Accordingly, the voltage level of theselected word line can be increased when the threshold voltage increasesaccording to increase in channel length of the access or drivetransistor in memory cell MC.

Therefore, the gate potential of pull-down transistor 21 can be adjustedaccording to the variations in threshold voltage of the access or drivetransistor in memory cell MC, and driver power supply voltage VDDR canbe adjusted to prevent deterioration of the write characteristics andthe read current.

According to the third embodiment of the invention, as described above,the gate voltage of the pull-down transistor is produced by thetransistor having substantially the same threshold voltagecharacteristics as the memory cell transistor as well as the N-typeheavily doped polycrystalline silicon non-silicide resistor having theresistance value of a small temperature dependence. Therefore, byreducing the temperature dependence of the gate voltage of the pull-downtransistor, the gate voltage of the pull-down transistor can becorrected depending on the threshold voltage variations of thetransistor in the memory cell.

Fourth Embodiment

FIG. 13 shows a major structure of a semiconductor memory deviceaccording to a fourth embodiment of the invention. In the semiconductormemory device shown in FIG. 13, the structure of driver power supplycircuit 10 is different from that shown in FIG. 12. More specifically,driver power supply circuit 10 includes a passive resistance element 28instead of MOS transistor 22 shown in FIG. 22. Passive resistanceelement 28 is formed of an N-type heavily doped non-silicide diffusionresistor having a width equal to channel width W of the N-channel MOStransistor in memory cell MC. Other structures of the semiconductormemory device shown in FIG. 13 are the same as those of thesemiconductor memory device shown in FIG. 12. The corresponding portionsbear the same reference numbers, and description thereof is notrepeated.

FIGS. 14A-14C schematically show layouts of resistance element 28,resistance 26 and the N-channel MOS transistor included in memory cellMC, respectively. In FIGS. 14A-14C, memory cell transistor MTR (accessor drive transistor) has impurity regions IMP1 and IMP2 as well as gateelectrode G arranged between these impurity regions IMP1 and IMP2. Ithas a gate electrode width (channel width) of W and a gate length(channel length) of L. Resistance element 28 is formed in the sameimpurity implanting step as impurity regions IMP1 and IMP2, is adiffusion resistor formed of this impurity region, and has a line widthW equal to the channel width (gate width) of memory cell transistor MTR.Each of impurity regions IMP1 and IMP2 of memory cell transistor MTR hasa surface that is silicided to form an ohmic contact to an electrodeinterconnection. The silicided surface prevents junction destructionthat may be cause by penetration of an electrode interconnection, andreduces a resistance of the impurity region. The impurity implantationof diffusion resistance element 28 is performed in the same step as thememory cell transistor, but the siliciding of the surface is notperformed for keeping a high resistance value.

Similarly to the structure of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 8A and8B, resistance element 26 is a heavily doped N-type polycrystallinesilicon non-silicide resistance element having the same line width as awidth (channel length) L of gate electrode G.

In the structure shown in FIGS. 14A-14C, line width L of interconnectionIL of resistance element 26 reflects the variations that occur inthreshold voltage of memory cell transistor MTR due to variations ingate length L of memory cell transistor MTR. Resistance element 28 isformed of an impurity region IMP3, and reflects variations in channelwidth of memory cell transistor MTR. Therefore, when memory celltransistor MTR has a large channel width (gate width) W, the currentpassing through memory cell transistor MTR increases to achieveequivalently a state that the threshold voltage becomes low. In thiscase, resistance element 28 has a large width and a low resistance valueR3 so that voltage VG on internal node 25 rises, and driver power supplyvoltage VDDR is adjusted to lower.

When channel width W of memory cell transistor MTR decreases, the drivecurrent quantity of memory cell transistor MTR decreases, and thethreshold voltage equivalently increases. In this case, width W ofimpurity region IMP3 of resistance element 28 decreases so that theresistance value thereof rises. Therefore, the step-down quantity of thevoltage on internal node 25 increases, and voltage VG lowers. Thereby,the conductance of pull-down transistor 21 decreases, and driver powersupply voltage VDDR is set to a high voltage level.

When channel length L varies, resistance element 26 performs feedback onvoltage VG to reflect the variations for correction. In this manner,driver power supply voltage VDDR is adjusted.

Therefore, when the N-channel MOS transistor (access or drivetransistor) in memory cell transistor MC has small gate width (channelwidth) W and thereby has the small current drive quantity, driver powersupply voltage VDDR increases so that the level of the voltage (driverpower supply voltage VDDR) of the selected word line is adjusted toincrease the read current in the memory cell transistor. The change involtage of the selected word line is caused in the same direction asthat for increasing the current passing the access transistor forwriting, and the write characteristics are likewise improved. Thereby,driver power supply voltage VDDR can be corrected in the direction thatdoes not lower the write characteristics and the read current.

When the memory cell transistor has large channel width W and thereforea large current drive quantity, driver power supply voltage VDDR is setto a low voltage level. Thereby, the current drive quantity of theaccess transistor decreases, and the read margin is improved. In thewrite operation, when the current drive quantity of the memory celltransistor is large, the write margin is sufficiently ensured. In thisstate, therefore, even when the current drive quantity of the accesstransistor decreases, the data writing can be performed sufficientlystably and fast.

The diffusion resistor and the polycrystalline silicon non-silicideresistor may be replaced with silicided resistors provided that thesehave resistance values required for the voltage adjustment.

According to the fourth embodiment of the invention, as described above,the diffusion resistor having the width equal to the channel width ofthe memory cell transistor is used, and the voltage divider circuit isformed of the series connection of this diffusion resistor element andthe heavily doped N-type polycrystalline silicon non-silicideinterconnection having the interconnection width equal to the gatelength of the transistor. Therefore, variations in either of the gatewidth and gate length of the memory cell transistor can be fed back onthe voltage level of driver power supply voltage VDDR so that thevoltage level of driver power supply voltage VDDR can be corrected.Thereby, the selected word line voltage can be set according to thestate of the memory cell transistor. Also, the diffusion resistor andthe polycrystalline silicon non-silicide resistor (or silicidedresistor) are used, and the temperature dependence thereof are small sothat the temperature dependence of the gate voltage of the pull-downtransistor can be sufficiently small. Therefore, the selected word linevoltage can be accurately corrected over a wide temperature range.

Fifth Embodiment

FIG. 15 shows a structure of a cell power supply circuit according to afifth embodiment of the invention. Word line drive circuit 3 and memorycell array 1 have the same structures as those already discussed in thefirst to fourth embodiments. The corresponding portions bear the samereference numbers, and description thereof is not repeated.

The structure of the cell power supply circuit shown in FIG. 15 differsfrom that of driver power supply circuit 10 shown in FIG. 12. Morespecifically, the substrate potential (back gate potential) of pull-downtransistor 21 is adjusted instead of its gate potential. A substrateregion (back gate) of pull-down transistor 21 receives voltage VG onnode 25. A gate of pull-down transistor 21 is coupled to the powersupply node, and receives a constant voltage.

When voltage VG rises, a back gate effect relatively lowers the sourcepotential of MOS transistor 21 (voltage VG is positive), and the currentdrive quantity of pull-down transistor 21 increases. Thereby, thevoltage step-down quantity of resistance element 20 increases, anddriver power supply voltage VDDR lowers.

When voltage VG lowers, the back gate potential of MOS transistor 21lowers Within a positive range, and the back gate effect raises thethreshold voltage of MOS transistor 21 and decreases the drive currentquantity. Thereby, the degree of voltage step-down of resistance element20 decreases, and driver power supply voltage VDDR is corrected to ahigh voltage level.

The state in which voltage VG is high corresponds to the state in whichthreshold voltage of the access or drive transistor in memory cell MC islow. Therefore, according to the variations in threshold voltage of thememory cell transistor, driver power supply voltage VDDR, i.e., thevoltage of the selected word line can be set accurately to the voltagelevel not impairing the write characteristics and the read current.

In the structure shown in FIG. 15, when a PN junction between the backgate of pull-down MOS transistor 21 and the source/drain thereof isforwardly biased, a conducting state is achieved between the back gate(P-well) and the source/drain impurity region of MOS transistor 21.Therefore, it is necessary to set voltage VG to the voltage level equalto or lower than a built-in voltage Vdp of the PN junction between theimpurity region (source/drain) and the substrate region.

[First Modification]

FIG. 16 shows a structure of a modification of the fifth embodiment ofthe invention. In driver power supply circuit 10 shown in FIG. 16, boththe back gate and the control gate of MOS transistor 21 for pull-downare connected to internal node 25. Other structures of the drive powersupply circuit 10 are the same as those of driver power supply circuit10 shown in FIG. 15. The corresponding portions bear the same referencenumbers, and description thereof is not repeated.

Also, word line drive circuit 3 and memory cell array 1 have the samestructures as those in FIG. 15. The corresponding portions bear the samereference numbers, and description thereof is not repeated.

In the structure of driver power supply circuit 10 shown in FIG. 16,when voltage VG on internal node 25 rises (to a positive level notexceeding built-in voltage Vdp), the back gate effect lowers thethreshold voltage of MOS transistor 21, and the voltage on its gaterises. Further, the threshold voltage lowers, and the current drivepower increases (the conductance increases). In this case, therefore,driver power supply voltage VDDR lowers (the voltage step-down quantityof resistance element 20 increases). Conversely, when voltage VG lowerswithin a positive range, the threshold voltage of pull-down transistor21 rises, and the control gate voltage lowers so that the thresholdvoltage further rises. In this case, therefore, the pull-down functionof pull-down transistor 21 lowers, and driver power supply voltage VDDRrises.

Therefore, by adjusting the potentials of both the back gate and controlgate, it is likewise possible to adjust the voltage level of driverpower supply voltage VDDR according to the variations in thresholdvoltage of the memory cell transistor.

When the back gate and the control gate are connected, the sourcepotential of pull-down transistor 21 apparently lowers by voltage VG.Therefore, pull-down transistor 21 can adjust the drive current quantityaccording to voltage VG when voltage VG is in a range between half thethreshold voltage (Vthn/2) and voltage Vdp (built-in voltage of the PNjunction).

[Second Modification]

FIG. 17 shows a structure of a second modification of driver powersupply circuit 10 according to the fifth embodiment of the invention. InFIG. 17, the structures of memory cell array 1 and word line drivecircuit 3 are the same as those shown in FIGS. 15 and 16. Thecorresponding portions bear the same reference numbers, and descriptionthereof is not repeated.

Driver power supply circuit 10 shown in FIG. 17 includes a gate controlcircuit 30 for adjusting the potentials of the back gate and controlgate of pull-down transistor 21. Gate control circuit 30 may have anyone of the structures in the second to fifth embodiments. The voltagelevel of voltage VG is adjusted according to the variations in thresholdvoltage of the N-channel MOS transistor (access or drive transistor) ofmemory cell MC.

In the structure of driver power supply circuit 10 shown in FIG. 17,gate control circuit 30 may be configured to adjust merely the controlgate potential of pull-down transistor 21, and to maintain the back gateof pull-down transistor 21 at a fixed potential.

According to the fifth embodiment of the invention, as described above,the back gate potential of the pull-down transistor is adjusted in amanner linked to variations in threshold voltage of the memory celltransistor, and the voltage level of driver power supply voltage VDDRcan be adjusted in a manner accurately linked to the variations inthreshold voltage of the memory cell transistor.

Sixth Embodiment

FIG. 18 shows a structure of driver power supply circuit 10 according toa sixth embodiment of the invention. Driver power supply circuit 10 isshared among word lines WL0-WL31. More specifically, driver power supplyline 11 extending from driver power supply circuit 10 is shared amongword line drivers WDR0-WDR31 provided corresponding to respective wordlines WL0-WL31.

Driver power supply circuit 10 includes, as pull-down elements,N-channel MOS transistors 31 and 32 connected in series between driverpower supply line 11 and the ground node. Each of N-channel MOStransistors 31 and 32 is formed of unit transistors (UTRs) of K innumber that are connected in parallel and each has the same thresholdvoltage characteristics as the memory cell transistor shown in FIG. 8.

A program switch circuit 34 is arranged for MOS transistor 32. Programswitch circuit 34 selectively turns on a predetermined number of unittransistors among the K unit transistors to adjust a value of a drivecurrent Ia of pull-down transistor 32.

Resistance element 20 formed of a passive element is arranged betweendriver power supply line 11 and the power supply node (VDD). Resistanceelement 20 is an N-type heavily doped polycrystalline siliconnon-silicide resistor, similarly to the those in the first to fifthembodiments.

Driver power supply circuit 10 further includes a P-channel MOStransistor 36 that is connected between the power supply node (VCC) andresistance element 28, and has a gate receiving a high-order decodesignal (row block select signal) XL, an N-channel MOS transistor 37 thatis connected between the ground node and resistance element 26, anddrives internal node 25 to the ground voltage level via resistanceelement 26 according to a control signal P2, an N-channel MOS transistor38 that couples internal node 25 to the ground node according tohigh-order decode signal XL, and a P-channel MOS transistor 39 thatcouples driver power supply line 11 to the power supply node (VDD)according to a control signal P1.

Power supply voltage VDD is used for driving the word line, and a powersupply voltage VCC is used for driving peripheral circuits. These powersupply voltages VDD and VCC may be at the same voltage level ordifferent voltage levels, respectively.

In FIG. 18, thick lines represent the channel regions of the transistorsother than MOS transistors 31 and 32. This representation means thatthese transistors are array peripheral transistors having thresholdvoltages not linked to the threshold voltage of the transistor in thememory cell.

Driver power supply circuit 10 is arranged for the set of word linesWL0-WL31. High-order decode signal XL indicates the row block includingthe 32 word lines. High-order decode signal XL is at the L-level in theselect operation. Therefore, when the set (row block) of thecorresponding word lines is selected, voltage VG on internal node 25 isset according to the on/off state of MOS transistor 37. When controlsignal P2 is at the H-level and the MOS transistor 37 is on, the voltagelevel of internal node 25 is set to the level determined by the divisionratio that is determined by resistance values R3 and R2 of resistanceelements 28 and 26. When control signal P2 is at the L-level and MOStransistor 37 is off, internal node 25 is at the level of power supplyvoltage VCC. Therefore, control signal P2 can set the on resistance ofpull-down MOS transistor 31, and therefore can adjust the voltage levelof voltage VDDR of driver power supply line 11.

When the corresponding row block is in the unselected state, high-orderdecode signal XL is at the H-level so that MOS transistor 36 is off, andMOS transistor 38 is on. Therefore, internal node 25 is coupled to theground node regardless of the on/off state of MOS transistor 37, andgate voltage VG attains the ground voltage level. In this state, thepath of a through current in resistance elements 26 and 28 isinterrupted. Thereby, current consumption in the unselected block andduring standby can be reduced.

When the corresponding row block is selected, resistance element 20 andMOS transistors 31 and 32 pass, as current Ia, only a current ofsubstantially the same order as the read current. When control signal P2turns on MOS transistor 37 and the resistance-division by resistanceelements 26 and 28 sets voltage VG on internal node 25, a current Ibflows through MOS transistor 37 and resistance elements 26 and 28. Thiscurrent Ib is much smaller than current Ia by about two digits, and hasa magnitude that can sufficiently satisfy low standby currentconditions. Resistance elements 26 and 28 are configured to havesufficiently large resistance values R2 and R3, respectively. The onresistance of MOS transistor 37 is much smaller than the resistancevalues of resistance elements 26 and 28, and is substantially ignorable.Resistance values R2 and R3 of resistance elements 26 and 28 are setsuch that divided voltage VG attains the voltage level equal to orhigher than threshold voltage Vthn of MOS transistor 31.

MOS transistors 31, 32, 36, 37, 38 and 39 as well as resistance elements26 and 28 form the pull-down circuit.

FIG. 19 is a list illustrating the operation mode of driver power supplycircuit 10 shown in FIG. 18, states of control signals P1 and P2, andoperation details thereof.

Three modes MODE_A, MODE_B and MODE_C are prepared as the operationmodes of driver power supply circuit 10.

(i) Mode MODE_A

In this mode, control signals P1 and P2 are at the L- and H-levels,respectively. High-order decode signal XL is fixed at the H-level. Inthis state, MOS transistor 39 is on, and MOS transistor 37 is on. MOStransistor 36 is off, and MOS transistor 38 is on. Therefore, MOStransistors 37 and 38 fix voltage VG on node 25 to the L-level (groundvoltage level). MOS transistor 39 and resistance element 20 fix voltageVDDR on driver power supply line 11 at the level of power supply voltageVDD. In this mode MODE_A, selected word line WL is driven to the levelof voltage VDD. Therefore, this mode is set when the memory cell has asufficient static noise margin and the write characteristics aresufficiently ensured.

(ii) Mode MODE_B

In this mode, control signals P1 and P2 are set to H- and L-levels,respectively. High-order decode signal XL is fixed to the L-level. Inthis state, MOS transistors 37, 38 and 39 are off, and MOS transistor 36is on. Therefore, MOS transistor 36 fixes voltage VG on node 25 at theH-level of voltage VCC. Thereby, resistance element 20 and MOStransistors 31 and 32 maintain voltage VDDR on driver power supply line11 at the voltage level lower than voltage VDD. This state correspondsto the structure of the first embodiment.

(iii) Mode MODE_C

In this mode, both control signals P1 and P2 are set to the H-level.High-order decode signal XL is set to the H- or L-level according to theresult of decoding of the provided row address signal. Thus, high-orderdecode signal XL is set to the L-level when the corresponding row blockis selected, and is kept at the H-level when the corresponding row blockis in the unselected state (including a standby state).

In this state, MOS transistor 3′7 is on, MOS transistor 39 is off, andMOS transistors 36 and 38 are selectively turned on and off according tohigh-order decode signal XL. When the corresponding row block isselected, MOS transistor 36 is on, and MOS transistor 38 is off.Therefore, the voltage divider circuit provided by resistance elements26 and 28 sets voltage VG on node 25, and thereby the pull-down circuit(including transistors 31 and 32 as well as resistance elements 28 and26) sets word line driver power supply voltage VDDR to the voltage levellower than voltage VDD.

When the corresponding row block is in the unselected state (includingthe standby state), MOS transistor 38 is on, and MOS transistor 36 isoff so that voltage VG on node 25 keeps the L-level (ground voltagelevel). Therefore, MOS transistor 31 is turned off. In this unselectedstate, therefore, the path of the through current in resistance element20 and pull-down transistors 31 and 32 is interrupted. Also, the path ofthe through current in resistance elements 26 and 28 is interruptedbecause MOS transistor 36 is off.

Thereby, gate voltage VG of pull-down transistor 31 is set to thevoltage level divided by the resistance voltage-divider circuit(resistance elements 26 and 28), and word line driver power supplyvoltage VDDR at the shifted level is transmitted onto the selected wordline.

The foregoing modes are set according to the quantity of variations ofthe threshold voltage in the semiconductor memory device, whereby thedriver power supply voltage can be adjusted to attain the optimum valueaccording to the degree of variations in each process.

FIG. 20 shows an example of a structure producing control signals P1 andP2 as well as high-order decode signal XL. In FIG. 20, a control signalline 40 transmitting control signal P1 is coupled via a maskinterconnection 41 to the power supply node or the ground node accordingto the mode. A control signal line 42 transmitting control signal P2 islikewise coupled via a mask interconnection 43 to the power supply nodeor the ground node according to the mode. These control signal lines 40and 42 are provided commonly to the driver power supply circuit in thememory array.

A high-order decode line 44 transmitting high-order decode signal XL iscoupled via a mask interconnection 46 to one of the power supply node,the ground node or a decode output line 45. Mask interconnection 46 hasa mask interconnection 46 a that is located between high-order decodeline 44 and decode output line 45, and is arranged for each row block(i.e., for each block of 32 word lines). Thereby, high-order decodersignal XL can be set according to the mode to one of an H-level-fixedstate, an L-level-fixed state and a state that is variable depending ona high-order decode signal XLF provided from the decoder.

In the structure shown in FIG. 20, mask interconnections 41, 43 and 46may be replaced with switching elements, and the connection path ofcontrol signal-lines 40, 42 and 44 may be set by selective on/off of theswitching elements.

In mode MODE_A, MOS transistor 39 is turned on according to controlsignal P1. In this case, control signal P1 may be set to the H- orL-level according to the standby state and select/unselect state.Likewise, in mode MODE_B, control signal P2 may be set to the H- orL-level according to the high-order decode signal (and, morespecifically, may be set to the H-level in the standby state and theunselect state, and to the L-level in the select state). When the statesof control signals P1 and P2 are set to the H- or L-level according toselect/unselect of the corresponding row block, control signals P1 andP2 in each row block must be set to the states according to thehigh-order decode signal independently of the other row blocks.

FIG. 21 schematically shows, by way of example, structures of MOStransistor 32 and switch circuit 34 shown in FIG. 18. In FIG. 21, MOStransistor 32 includes a parallel connection of a plurality of (i.e.,four) unit transistor groups UTG0-UTG3. Each of unit transistor groupsUTG0-UTG3 includes unit transistors UTR connected together in parallel.Unit transistor UTR has substantially the same structure and size as thememory cell transistor (and these are formed in the same manufacturingstep). Gate circuits GTK0-GTK3 are arranged for unit transistor groupsUTG0-UTG3, respectively. Each of gate circuits GTK0-GTK3 corresponds toswitch circuit 34 shown in FIG. 18.

Gate circuit GTK0 is formed of an AND gate receiving the power supplyvoltage (VCC) on its opposite inputs. Gate circuit GTK1 is formed of anOR gate receiving control signals CTL0 and CTL1. Gate circuit GTK2 isformed of an AND gate receiving control signal CTL0 on its oppositeinputs. Gate circuit GTK3 is formed of an AND circuit receiving controlsignals CTL0 and CTL1.

In the structure of MOS transistor 32 shown in FIG. 21, the followingfour states can be achieved according to control signals CTL0 and CTL1.

(i) CTL0=CTL1=0 (=L-level)

In this state, all the output signals of gate circuits GTK1-GTK3 are atthe L-level, and all unit transistors UTR in unit transistor groupsUTG1-UTG3 are off. The output signal of gate circuit GTK0 is at theH-level, and all unit transistors UTR in unit transistor group UTG0 areon. In this state, therefore, MOS transistor 32 is formed of unittransistor group UTG0.

(ii) CTL0=0 and CTL1=1

In this state, the output signal of gate circuit GTK1 is at the H-level.Both the output signals of gate circuits GTK2 and GTK3 are at theL-level. Therefore, unit transistors UTR in unit transistor groups UTG0and UTG1 are on.

(iii) CTL0=1 and CTL1=0

In this state, the output signals of gate circuits GTK0-GTK2 are at theH-level, and unit transistors UTR in unit transistor groups UTG0-UTG2are turned on. The output signal of gate circuit GTK3 is at the L-level,and unit transistors UTR in unit transistor group UTG3 are off.

(iv) CTL0=CTL1=1

In this state, all the output signals of gate circuits GTK0-GTK3 are atthe H-level, and all unit transistors UTR in unit transistor groupsUTG0-UTG3 are off.

The channel width of MOS transistor 32 can be selectively set to fourvalues by setting the logical values of control signals CTL0 and CTL1,and thereby the drive current quantity of MOS transistor 32 can beadjusted. By this current quantity adjustment, it is possible to adjustthe driver power supply voltage that is pulled down according to thechanges in characteristics of the memory cell transistor, and theoptimum responsibility can be set with respect to the variations inthreshold voltage so that the semiconductor memory device may operatestably.

Control signals CTL0 and CTL1 may be produced, e.g., by programming thefuse elements, or by fixing potentials of specific bonding pads bybonding wires. Also, the voltage levels of control signals CTL0 and CTL1may be set using mask interconnections.

Gate circuits GTK0-GTK3 in switch circuit 34 may be shared among thedriver power supply circuits arranged in the respective row blocks ofthe memory array.

FIG. 22 schematically shows an arrangement of the semiconductor memorydevice on the chip according to the sixth embodiment of the invention.In FIG. 22, the memory cell array is divided into cell sub-arrays 50 aand 50 b each having memory cells in 32 rows. Tap regions 52 a and 52 bare arranged between cell sub-arrays 50 a and 50 b for setting asubstrate potential (well potential).

Row decoders 54 a and 54 b are arranged corresponding to cell sub-arrays50 a and 50 b for selecting the rows (word lines) in cell sub-arrays 50a and 50 b, respectively. Word line drivers are also arranged inrespective regions indicated by 54 a and 54 b. A driver power supplycircuit arrangement region 60 is arranged between cell sub-arrays 50 aand 50 b and row decoders 54 a and 54 b.

In driver power supply circuit arrangement region 60, the driver powersupply circuits are arranged corresponding to row decoders 54 a and 54b, respectively. A pull-down NMOS arrangement region 62 a, an N+polycrystalline silicon (N+PO) resistor-1 arrangement region 64 a, an N+polycrystalline silicon resistor-2 arrangement region 66 a and an N+diffusion resistor arrangement region 68 a are arranged between cellsub-array 50 a and row decoder 54 a. A pull-down NMOS arrangement region62 b, an N+ polycrystalline silicon (N+PO) resistor-1 arrangement region64 b, an N+ polycrystalline silicon resistor-2 arrangement region 66 band an N+ diffusion resistor arrangement region 68 b are arrangedbetween cell sub-array 50 b and row decoder 54 b.

The pull-down NMOS corresponds to N-channel MOS transistors 31 and 32shown in FIG. 18. The N+ polycrystalline silicon resistor-1 correspondsto resistance element 26 shown in FIG. 18. The N+ polycrystallinesilicon resistor-2 corresponds to resistance element 20 shown in FIG.18. The N+ diffusion resistor corresponds to resistance element 28 shownin FIG. 18.

In driver power supply circuit arrangement region 60, peripheral switcharrangement regions 70 a and 70 b are arranged corresponding to tapregions 52 a and 52 b, respectively. In peripheral switch arrangementregions 70 a and 70 b, there are arranged P-channel MOS transistors 36and 39 as well as N-channel MOS transistors 37 and 38 in the driverpower supply circuit shown in FIG. 18.

As shown in FIG. 22, the memory cell array is usually provided with tapregions 52 a and 52 b arranged corresponding to the respective cellsub-arrays each having 32 rows for fixing the substrate potential. Wellisolation is performed in the regions corresponding to tap regions 52 aand 52 b, and a gap region is present between row decoders 54 a and 54b. Peripheral switches such as switching transistors are arranged usingthis gap region, whereby increase in area of the memory cell array canbe suppressed. The driver power supply circuit is adjacent to cellsub-arrays 50 a and 50 b, whereby the pull-down NMOS, N+ polycrystallinesilicon non-silicide resistor and N+ diffusion resistor can be arrangedin the same layout as the memory cells. Variations in size due toshifting of a mask of the memory cells likewise occur in this driverpower supply circuit arrangement region 60, and the components of thedriver power supply circuit in driver power supply circuit arrangementregion 60 can accurately reflect the variations in manufacturingparameter of the transistor elements in the memory cell.

FIG. 23 schematically shows a plane layout of the circuit arrangementshown in FIG. 22. FIG. 23 shows a plane layout of an active region(diffusion layer) and a gate electrode of one-bit memory cell MC in thememory sub-array. N+ polycrystalline silicon resistor-1 arrangementregions 64 a and 64 b have the same plane layout, N+ polycrystallinesilicon resistor-2 arrangement regions 66 a and 66 b have the same planelayout, and N+ diffusion resistor arrangement regions 68 a and 68 b havethe same plane layout. Therefore, reference numbers 64, 66 and 68 inFIG. 23 indicate one N+ polycrystalline silicon resistor-1 arrangementregion, one N+ polycrystalline silicon resistor-2 arrangement region andone N+ diffusion resistor arrangement region, respectively.

In FIG. 23, memory cell MC includes N-type impurity regions (activeregions) 70 a and 70 b each continuously extending in the Y-direction,and active regions 71 a and 71 b extending in the Y-direction andarranged between active regions 70 a and 70 b. Active regions 71 a and71 b are P-type impurity regions (diffusion regions). Active regions 71a and 71 b extend in the memory cell. Active regions 70 a and 70 bcontinuously extend in the Y-direction, and are shared among theplurality of memory cells.

Memory cell MC further includes a gate electrode 72 a extending in theX-direction and crossing active regions 71 b and 71 a, a gate electrodeinterconnection 72 b extending in the X-direction and crossing activeregions 71 b and 72 b, a gate electrode interconnection 72 d extendingin the X-direction and crossing active region 70 b, and a gate electrodeinterconnection 72 c crossing active region 70 a. Gate electrodeinterconnection 72 a is coupled to active region 71 b via a sharedcontact 74 a, and gate electrode interconnection 72 b is coupled toactive region 71 a via a shared contact 74 b.

The shared contacts have functions of both the contact and theinterconnection, and electrically couples active regions 71 a and 71 bdirectly to gate electrode interconnections 72 b and 72 a, respectively.The formation of shared contacts 74 a and 74 b provides the storage nodein the memory cell.

Gate electrode interconnections 72 a and 72 d are aligned in theX-direction, and gate electrode interconnections 72 c and 72 b arealigned in the X-direction. Each of active regions 70 a and 70 b has awidth of W1 in the X-direction, and the access and drive transistors areformed in this region.

Each of gate electrode interconnections 72 a-72 d has a width of W2 inthe Y-direction and a length of W3 in the X-direction. This width W2 inthe Y-direction of the gate electrode interconnection defines thechannel lengths of the access and drive transistors in the memory cell.Width W1 of active regions 70 a and 70 b defines the channel width ofthe memory cell transistor.

Gate electrode interconnections 72 a and 72 d are spaced from gateelectrode interconnections 72 c and 72 b by a distance (pitch) of PL1.Memory cells MC are arranged such that the layouts described above aresymmetrical in the X- and Y-directions.

In N+ polycrystalline silicon resistance-1 arrangement region 64, N+doped polycrystalline silicon interconnections 75 a-75 e are arrangedwith the same line width, line length and pitch as gate electrodeinterconnections 72 a-72 d in memory cell MC. Each of polycrystallinesilicon interconnections 75 a-75 e has opposite ends connected to theneighboring ends of the different interconnections so that thesepolycrystalline silicon interconnections form a zigzag pattern.Polycrystalline silicon interconnections 75 a-75 e are connectedtogether via contacts 77 in the regions continuously extending in theY-direction by metal interconnections 76 a-76 f formed of silicide(cobalt silicide or nickel silicide) in an upper layer. The zigzag formof polycrystalline silicon interconnections 75 a-75 e achieves a largeresistance value. An anti-silicide mask (anti-silicide film) 85 a (i.e.,a mask or a film for preventing siliciding) is formed abovepolycrystalline silicon interconnections 75 a-75 e. In a siliciding stepfor the gate electrode interconnections of the memory cell transistors,anti-silicide mask 85 a prevents the siliciding of polycrystallinesilicon interconnections 75 a-75 e.

Each of polycrystalline silicon interconnections 75 a-75 e has a lengthof W3 in the X-direction and a length of W2 in the Y-direction.Therefore, polycrystalline silicon interconnections 75 a-75 e having thesame sizes as gate electrode interconnections 72 a-72 d in memory cellMC are arranged at the same pitch as them.

In N+ polycrystalline silicon resistor-2 arrangement region 66, N+ dopedpolycrystalline silicon interconnections 77 a-77 e are successivelyarranged in the Y-direction at the same pitch PL1 as gate electrodeinterconnections 72 a-72 d. Each of polycrystalline siliconinterconnections 77 a-77 e is connected at its opposite ends to silicideinterconnections 78 a and 78 b via contacts 79, respectively. Ananti-silicide mask 85 b is likewise arranged in region 66 to prevent thesiliciding of polycrystalline silicon interconnections 77 a-77 e.

In N+ polycrystalline silicon resistor-2 arrangement region 66, each ofpolycrystalline silicon interconnections 77 a-77 e has a length of W3 inthe X-direction and a width of W2 in the Y-direction. Silicideinterconnections 78 a and 78 b connect opposite ends of polycrystallinesilicon interconnections 77 a-77 e together so that polycrystallinesilicon interconnections 77 a-77 e are arranged in parallel to reducethe resistance value of the resistance element formed in N+polycrystalline silicon resistor-2 arrangement region 66.

In N+ diffusion resistor arrangement region 68, a diffusion region(active region) 80 continuously extends in the Y direction. Activeregion 80 has the same width W1 in the X direction as active regions 70a and 70 b in memory cell MC, and has the same impurity concentration.Anti-silicide masks 85 c are arranged at predetermined regions in activeregion 80, and are mutually connected via contacts 82 and through ashield insulating film to the neighboring diffusion regions byinterconnections 81 a and 81 b. In a structure having diffusion region80 that continuously extends in the Y direction, interconnections 81 aand 81 b are not generally employed, and anti-silicide mask 85 ccontinuously extends in the Y direction. In the illustrated example, thefield insulating film isolates diffusion region 80 from each other atpredetermined intervals to follow various layouts of memory cells.

Diffusion region (active region) 80 has the width of W1 in theX-direction, which is equal to width W1 in the X-direction of each ofactive regions 70 a and 70 b in memory cell MC. Also, diffusion region80 has the same impurity concentration (implantation dose) as activeregions 70 a and 70 b.

Therefore, the components having the same size and the same impurityconcentration as the corresponding components in memory cell MC areformed in regions 64, 66 and 68 through the same steps as those inmemory cell MC, whereby the variations in shape or form due to the maskshifting in memory cell MC affect the components in regions 64, 66 and68 to the same extent as those in memory cell MC. Therefore, thecomponents in regions 64, 66 and 68 can accurately reflect thevariations in electric characteristics of the transistors in memory cellMC so that driver power supply voltage VDDR can be set accuratelyaccording to the memory cell characteristics.

FIG. 24 schematically shows a sectional structure of the N+ dopedpolycrystalline silicon interconnection near the anti-silicide region.As shown in FIG. 24, a polycrystalline silicon interconnection 90 in ananti-silicide region 85 is formed of N+ doped polycrystalline silicon90. In a region outside anti-silicide region 85, metal such as cobalt ornickel is layered, and then siliciding is performed to form a silicidelayer 92. The gate electrode of the memory cell transistor is usuallythe polycrystalline silicon interconnection thus silicided. Thisstructure reduces the resistance of the gate electrode as well as thethreshold voltage of the MOS transistor. The silicide gate electrode isusually formed in a manner that polycrystalline silicon is deposited andprocessed, and then metal such as cobalt or nickel is diffused to causea siliciding reaction over a whole region reaching an interface withrespect to the gate insulating film.

FIG. 24 shows an example in which silicide film 92 is formed only in apart of polycrystalline silicon interconnection 90. However, thepolycrystalline silicon interconnection may be fully or entirelysilicided. In this full-silicide gate electrode structure, the gateelectrode of the memory cell transistor has a silicided portionextending to a boundary to the gate insulating film.

Although not clearly shown, the active region of the memory celltransistor has a silicided layer at its surface. In N+ diffusionresistance arrangement region 68, the silicide layer is not formed atthe surface of active region 80.

When each resistance for pull-down is formed through the completely samesteps as the memory cell, the silicided resistance element is used asthe resistance element so that the resistance value cannot be increasedsufficiently. Therefore, a non-silicide resistance is used.

FIG. 25 schematically shows another layout of N+ diffusion resistancearrangement region 68. In FIG. 25, active regions (diffusion regions) 94a and 94 b are arranged with a space therebetween, and each continuouslyextend over the row block of 32 rows. These active regions 94 a and 94 bare mutually connected via contacts 95 by a metal interconnection 96 ain a lower region. Active regions 94 a and 94 b are connected viacontacts 95 by metal interconnections 96 b and 96 c in an upper region.In this manner, the opposite electrodes of the diffusion resistanceelement are formed.

As shown in FIG. 25, active regions 94 a and 94 b are continuouslyarranged in the region of the word lines in 32 rows, and this structurecorresponds to the structure in which active regions 70 a and 70 bcontinuously extend in the Y-direction in memory cell MC shown in FIG.23.

In this case, active regions 94 a and 94 b have the same width W1 asactive regions 70 a and 70 b of memory cell MC, are arranged at the samepitch (in the X-direction) as active regions 70 a and 70 b locatedbetween the neighboring memory cells and have the same impurityconcentration as access transistors 70 a and 70 b.

Similarly to the case already discussed, parameters of the memory cellvary depending on the mask shifting of the mask of memory cell MC or thevariations in impurity concentration, and these variations in parametermay be reflected in the width or the impurity concentration of diffusionlayers (active regions) 94 a and 94 b.

A plane layout of the pull-down transistor (i.e., the transistor forpull-down) is not shown. Unit transistors of the pull-down transistorare arranged according to the same plane layout as the memory celltransistors. Since the unit transistors are formed in 32 rows, arequired number of unit transistors can be arranged.

According to the sixth embodiment of the invention, as described above,driver power supply circuit is configured to interrupt the path of thethrough current during the standby or the unselected state so that thepower consumption can be reduced. The driver power supply circuits arearranged corresponding to the respective row blocks so that a totalfootprint of the driver power supply circuits can be reduced.

The driver power supply circuit is arranged in each region between thememory cell arrangement region (memory cell sub-array) and thecorresponding row-decoder, and each transistor in the driver powersupply circuit can be adjacent to the memory cell. Therefore, thecomponents of the driver power supply circuit can accurately reflect thevariations in transistor parameter of the memory cell, and can have thecharacteristics that follow the variations in characteristics of thetransistors in the memory cell. Further, the components of the driverpower supply circuit are arranged using a tap region applying a fixedpotential to the substrate region, and this structure can sufficientlysuppress the increase in a footprint of the memory cell array that maybe caused by arrangement of the driver power supply circuit.

The resistance element and the diffusion resistor are aligned in thesame direction as the corresponding element in the transistors of thememory cell, and the transistors which are the components of this driverpower supply circuit can accurately reflect the parameter variations ofthe memory cell.

Seventh Embodiment

FIG. 26 shows an example of the structure of the memory cell in thesemiconductor memory device according to the seventh embodiment of theinvention. Similarly to memory cell MC shown in FIG. 2, memory cell MCin FIG. 26 includes P- and N-channel MOS transistors PQ1 and NQ1 forminga CMOS inverter, and P- and N-channel MOS transistors PQ2 and NQ2forming another CMOS inverter. These transistors PQ1, PQ2, NQ1 and NQ2form a CMOS inverter latch that stores complementary data on storagenodes ND1 and ND2.

Memory cell MC further includes N-channel MOS transistors NQ3A and NQ4Acoupling storage nodes ND1 and ND2 to bit lines BLA and /BLA accordingto a signal level on a word line WLA, respectively, and N-channel MOStransistors NQ3B and NQ4B coupling bit lines BLB and /BLB to storagenodes ND1 and ND2 according to a signal level on a word line WLB,respectively.

Memory cell MC shown in FIG. 26 is a two-port memory cell, and couplesstorage nodes ND1 and ND2 to bit lines BLA and /BLA, respectively, whena word line WLA is selected. When a word line WLB is selected, itcouples storage nodes ND1 and ND2 to bit lines BLB and /BLB,respectively. Therefore, the reading/writing of data can be performed inparallel by selecting word lines WLA and WLB via different ports,respectively. For each port, word lines WLA and WLB as well as bit linepair BLA and /BLA and bit line pair BLB and /BLB are arranged. In thewhole structure of this two-port memory cell, the structure in thesemiconductor memory device shown in FIG. 1 is arranged as a peripheralcircuit for each of ports A and B.

FIG. 27 schematically shows a structure of the driver power supplycircuit according to the seventh embodiment of the invention. FIG. 27representatively shows word line WLA of port A and word line WLB of portB. Word line drivers WDRA and WDRB are arranged corresponding to wordlines WLA and WLB, respectively.

The structure includes a driver power supply circuit 100 shared betweenword line drivers WDRA and WDRB. Driver power supply circuit 100includes resistance element 20 that is connected between the powersupply node and a driver power supply line 111. Similarly to the firstto sixth embodiments, resistance element 20 is a heavily doped N-typedoped polycrystalline silicon interconnection, and is preferably anon-silicide resistance element.

Driver power supply circuit 100 further includes an N-channel MOStransistor 21 having the same threshold voltage characteristics, as thedriver or access transistor in the memory cell (not shown in FIG. 27),and a pull-down circuit 102 lowering the voltage level of driver powersupply line 111. Pull-down circuit 102 further includes a gate controlcircuit 104 controlling a gate potential of pull-down transistor 21.Gate control circuit 104 has any one of the structures in the first tosixth embodiments. Depending on the threshold voltage variations of theaccess or drive transistor in the memory cell, the voltage level ofdriver power supply voltage VDDR is adjusted through the gate potentialof the pull-down transistor.

As shown in FIG. 27, driver power supply circuit 100 shared among theword lines in 32 rows is arranged for each of ports A and B, similarlyto the sixth embodiment. Driver power supply circuit 100 can be arrangedfor sharing between ports A and B so that increase in footprint of thememory cell array can be suppressed.

The operation and effect of driver power supply circuit 100 shown inFIG. 27 are the same as those already described in the first to sixthembodiments.

The SRAM may have ports more than two. The driver power supply circuitis arranged for sharing among all the ports.

According to the seventh embodiment of the invention, as describedabove, the multi-port SRAM is provided with the driver power supplycircuit shared among all the ports so that the increase in array areacan be suppressed, and the variations in threshold voltage of the memorycell transistor can be suppressed. Therefore, the word line voltage canbe set to the accurate voltage level, and deterioration of the writecharacteristics and the read current characteristics can be prevented.

Eighth Embodiment

FIG. 28 shows a major structure of a semiconductor memory deviceaccording to an eighth embodiment of the invention.

In FIG. 28, driver power supply circuit 10 is arranged for sharing by aset of word lines WL0-WL31. More specifically, driver power supply line11 extending from driver power supply circuit 10 is commonly coupled toword line drivers WDR100-WDR131 arranged corresponding to respectiveword lines WL0-WL31. This semiconductor memory device includes a backgate control circuit 121. Word line driver WDR100 will now be describedas a representative example.

Driver power supply circuit 10 includes resistance element 20 connectedbetween the power supply node and driver power supply line 11, and alsoincludes pull-down transistor 21 connected between driver power supplyline 11 and the ground node. Resistance element 20 and pull-downtransistor 21 have the same structures as these in the first embodiment.

Word line driver WDR100 includes a P-channel MOS transistor PQ11 and anN-channel MOS transistor NQ11. P- and N-channel MOS transistors PQ11 andNQ11 form a CMOS inverter.

P-channel MOS transistor PQ11 has a source connected to resistanceelement 20 in driver power supply circuit 10 and a drain of pull-downtransistor 21. Thus, P-channel MOS transistor PQ11 receives driver powersupply voltage VDDR on its source. A drain of P-channel MOS transistorPQ11 is connected to a drain of N-channel MOS transistor NQ11 and wordline WL0, and a back gate thereof is connected to an output of back gatecontrol circuit 121. A gate of P-channel MOS transistor PQ11 isconnected to a gate of N-channel MOS transistor NQ11.

Back gate control circuit 121 controls the back gate potential ofP-channel MOS transistor PQ11 according to high-order decode signal XL.More specifically, when the corresponding row block is not selected,back gate control circuit 121 sets the back gate potential of powersupply voltage VDD in P-channel MOS transistor PQ11. When thecorresponding row block is selected, back gate control circuit 121 setsthe back gate potential smaller than power supply voltage VDD inP-channel MOS transistor PQ11.

When the back gate potential of P-channel MOS transistor PQ11 decreasesto a positive voltage equal to or lower than the built-in voltage, theback gate effect lowers the threshold voltage of P-channel MOStransistor PQ11. Thereby, the drive capability of P-channel MOStransistor PQ11 can be increased so that the speed of P-channel MOStransistor PQ11 can be increased.

Since driver power supply circuit 11 is connected to the plurality ofword line drivers WDR100-WDR131, driver power supply line 11 has a largeparasitic capacitance. It may be envisaged that the back gate ofP-channel MOS transistor PQ11 is connected to driver power supply line11 to increase the speed of P-channel MOS transistor PQ11 as comparedwith a structure in which the back gate of P-channel MOS transistor PQ11is fixed at power supply voltage VDD. However, the above structurehaving the back gate connected to driver power supply line 11 furtherincreases the parasitic capacitance of driver power supply line 11, andovershoot of word line WL occurs when P-channel MOS transistor PQ11changes from the off state to the on state.

In the semiconductor memory device according to the eighth embodiment ofthe invention, however, the back gate of P-channel MOS transistor PQ11included in word line driver WDR is connected to back gate controlcircuit 121. This structure can prevent the increase in parasiticcapacitance of driver power supply line 11 so that the overshoot of wordline WL can be reduced.

In the semiconductor memory device according to the eighth embodiment ofthe invention, since it is merely required to control the back gatepotential of P-channel MOS transistor PQ11 a row block at a time, theregion required for substrate isolation can be small so that the area ofthe semiconductor memory device can be small.

Other structures and operations are the same as those of the firstembodiment, and therefore detailed description thereof is not repeated.

Ninth Embodiment

FIG. 29 shows a major structure of a semiconductor memory deviceaccording to a ninth embodiment of the invention.

In FIG. 29, driver power supply circuit 10 is arranged for sharing amongword lines WL0-WL31. More specifically, driver power supply line 11extending from driver power supply circuit 10 is commonly coupled toword line drivers WDR200-WDR231 provided corresponding to respectiveword lines WL0-WL31. Word line driver WDR200 will now be describedrepresentatively.

Word line driver WDR200 includes a P-channel MOS transistor PQ12 and anN-channel MOS transistor NQ11. P-channel MOS transistor PQ12 andN-channel MOS transistor NQ11 form a CMOS inverter.

P-channel MOS transistor PQ12 is a DTMOS (Dynamic Threshold MOS). Morespecifically, P-channel MOS transistor PQ12 has a back gate and a gateconnected together. A source of P-channel MOS transistor PQ12 isconnected to resistance element 20 in driver power supply circuit 10 anddrain of pull-down transistor 21. Thus, driver power supply voltage VDDRis applied to the source of P-channel MOS transistor PQ12. A drain ofP-channel MOS transistor PQ12 is connected to the drain of N-channel MOStransistor NQ11 and word line WL0. The gate of P-channel MOS transistorPQ12 is connected to the gate of N-channel MOS transistor NQ11.

P-channel MOS transistor PQ12 has an SOI (Silicon On Insulator)structure. Thus, the semiconductor memory device includes a siliconsubstrate, a buried oxide film that is an insulating film formed on thesilicon substrate, and an active layer formed on the oxide film. Asemiconductor region of P-channel MOS transistor PQ12 and an STI(Shallow Trench Isolation) region are formed in the active layer.Thereby, the back gate potentials of the P-channel MOS transistors inthe plurality of word line drivers WDR can be controlled independently.

When a voltage at the logical L-level is applied to the gate ofP-channel MOS transistor PQ12, the back gate potential attains thelogical L-level so that the back gate effect lowers the thresholdvoltage of P-channel MOS transistor PQ12. Thereby, the drive capabilityof P-channel MOS transistor PQ12 can be increased so that the speed ofP-channel MOS transistor PQ12 can be increased.

Conversely, when a voltage at the logical H-level is applied to the gateof P-channel MOS transistor PQ12, the back gate potential attains thelogical H-level so that a potential difference between the source andback gate of P-channel MOS transistor PQ12 is small, and the back gateeffect does not occur. Thereby, it is possible to prevent an unnecessaryflow of a leak current in P-channel MOS transistor PQ12.

It is not necessary to employ back gate control circuit 121 that isrequired in the semiconductor memory device according to the eighthembodiment, and the semiconductor memory device can have small sizes.

Other structures and operations are the same as those of the firstembodiment, and therefore detailed description thereof is not repeated.

Tenth Embodiment

FIG. 30 shows a major structure of a semiconductor memory deviceaccording to a tenth embodiment of the invention.

In FIG. 30, driver power supply circuit 10 includes resistance element20 connected between the power supply node supplied with power supplyvoltage VDDQ and driver power supply line 11, and pull-down transistor21 connected between driver power supply line 11 and the ground node.The gate of pull-down transistor 21 is connected to the power supplynode supplied with a power supply voltage VDDP. Other structures ofresistance element 20 and pull-down transistor 21 are the same as thosein the first embodiment.

Word line driver WDR includes P- and N-channel MOS transistors PQ11 andNQ11. P- and N-channel MOS transistors PQ11 and NQ11 form a CMOSinverter.

Memory cell MC is supplied with a power supply voltage VDDM. Thus, powersupply voltage VDDM is supplied to high-side power supply node VH shownin FIG. 2.

Assuming that resistance element 20 has a resistance value of R andpull-down transistor 21 has an on-resistance of Rn, a potential Vwl ofword line WL can be expressed by the following equation:

Vwl=(Rn/(R+Rn)×VDDQ

In the semiconductor memory device according to the tenth embodiment ofthe invention, power supply voltage VDDQ is larger than power supplyvoltage VDDM.

When pull-down transistor 21 is in the slow state, the potential of wordline WL can be set to the level equal to or higher than power supplyvoltage VDDM of memory cell MC so that it is possible to preventlowering of the speed of access to memory cell MC.

Other structures and operations are the same as those of the firstembodiment, and therefore detailed description thereof is not repeated.

Eleventh Embodiment

FIG. 31 shows a major structure of a semiconductor memory deviceaccording to an eleventh embodiment of the invention. FIG. 32 is a graphillustrating potentials of nodes A and B in a gate control circuit 141.

In FIG. 31, the semiconductor memory device includes driver power supplycircuit 10, word line driver WDR and gate control circuit 141.

In the structure shown in FIG. 32, pull-down transistor 21 and gatecontrol circuit 141 form a pull-down circuit.

Gate control circuit 141 includes P-channel MOS transistors PQ21 andPQ22, an N-channel MOS transistor NQ21, an inverter G21 and a capacitorCA. Capacitor CA may be an interconnection capacitance.

A control signal CONT is supplied to a gate of P-channel MOS transistorPQ21 and an input terminal of inverter G21. A source of P-channel MOStransistor PQ21 is connected to the power supply node supplied withpower supply voltage VDD. A drain of P-channel MOS transistor PQ21 isconnected to a first end of capacitor CA and a source of P-channel MOStransistor PQ22. A drain of P-channel MOS transistor PQ22 is connectedto the gate of pull-down transistor 21 and a drain of N-channel MOStransistor NQ21. An output terminal of inverter G21 is connected to agate of P-channel MOS transistor PQ22 and a gate of N-channel MOStransistor NQ21. A source of N-channel MOS transistor NQ21 and a secondend of capacitor CA are connected to the ground node supplied with theground voltage.

The node connected to the drain of P-channel MOS transistor PQ21, thefirst end of capacitor CA and the source of P-channel MOS transistorPQ22 is referred to as a “node A” hereinafter. The node connected to thedrain of P-channel MOS transistor PQ22, the drain of N-channel MOStransistor NQ21 and the gate of pull-down transistor 21 is referred toas a “node B” hereinafter. A capacitance CB is a gate capacitance ofpull-down transistor 21.

Gate control circuit 141 electrically connects nodes A and B, i.e., thefirst end of capacitor CA and the gate of pull-down transistor 21together when corresponding word line WL is selected, and therebydischarges electric charges accumulated in capacitor CA to the gate ofpull-down transistor 21.

More specifically, when control signal CONT is at the logical L-level inFIG. 32, P-channel MOS transistor PQ21 is turned on, P-channel MOStransistor PQ22 is turned off and N-channel MOS transistor NQ21 isturned on. Thereby, capacitor CA is charged, and node A has thepotential of power supply voltage VDD. Also, node B has the potential ofthe ground voltage level (section T1).

When control signal CONT attains the logical H-level thereafter,P-channel MOS transistor PQ21 is turned off, P-channel MOS transistorPQ22 is turned on and N-channel MOS transistor NQ21 is turned off.Thereby, nodes A and B are short-circuited so that the potentials ofnodes A and B take values corresponding to a capacitance ratio betweencapacitances CA and CB (section T2).

When control signal CONT attains the logical L-level, P-channel MOStransistor PQ21 is turned on, P-channel MOS transistor PQ22 is turnedoff and N-channel MOS transistor NQ21 is turned on. Thereby, capacitorCA is charged, and node A attains the potential of power supply voltageVDD. Also, node B attains the potential at the ground voltage level(section T3).

When the gate length of pull-down transistor 21 decreases due tomanufacturing variations, the threshold voltage decreases. In this case,gate capacitance. CB of pull-down transistor 21 decreases. Thereby, thepotential of node B corresponding to the capacitance ratio betweencapacitors CA and CB increases, and the overdrive voltage of pull-downtransistor 21 increases. The on-resistance of pull-down transistor 21decreases, the drive capability thereof increases and the sourcepotential of P-channel MOS transistor PQ11 decreases so that thepotential of word line WL decreases.

When the gate length of pull-down transistor 21 increases due to themanufacturing variations, the threshold voltage increases. In this case,gate capacitance CB of pull-down transistor 21 increases. Thereby, thepotential of node B corresponding to the capacitance ratio betweencapacitances CA and CB decreases, and the overdrive voltage of pull-downtransistor 21 decreases. The on-resistance of pull-down transistor 21increases, the drive capability thereof decreases and the sourcepotential of P-channel MOS transistor PQ11 increases so that thepotential on word line WL increases.

Therefore, the semiconductor memory device according to the eleventhembodiment of the invention can appropriately adjust the potential ofword line WL according to the variations in gate length of pull-downtransistor 21 so that the data writing and data reading can be stablyperformed.

Other structures and operations are the same as those of the firstembodiment, and therefore detailed description thereof is not repeated.

Twelfth Embodiment

FIG. 33 shows a major structure of a semiconductor memory deviceaccording to a twelfth embodiment of the invention.

In FIG. 33, driver power supply circuit 10 includes resistance elements20, 226 and 228 as well as pull-down transistor 21.

Similarly to the structure of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 8,resistance elements 226 and 228 are heavily doped N-type polycrystallinesilicon non-silicide resistance element having the line width equal towidth (channel length) L of gate electrode G.

In the structure shown in FIG. 33, resistance elements 226 and 228 aswell as pull-down transistor 21 form a pull-down circuit.

It is now assumed that the memory cell transistor has small gate length(channel length) L. In this case, threshold voltage Vthn of theN-channel MOS transistor in memory cell MC lowers. The interconnectionwidth of resistance element 226 decreases so that resistance value Rathereof increases. Therefore, the voltage level of gate voltage VG oninternal node 25 rises. Thereby, the conductance of pull-down transistor21 increases, and the drive power supply voltage VDDR lowers. Therefore,threshold voltage Vthn of the access or drive transistor in memory cellMC lowers so that the voltage transmitted onto the selected word linecan be lowered.

Then, it is assumed that the transistor in memory cell MC has large gatelength (channel length) L. In this case, the threshold voltage of theaccess or drive transistor in memory cell MC increases. In resistanceelement 226, the interconnection width increases, and the resistancevalue lowers. Therefore, the voltage level of gate voltage VG oninternal node 25 lowers, and the conductance of pull-down transistor 21lowers. Thereby, the voltage level of driver power supply voltage VDDRrises. Therefore, when the threshold voltage of the access or drivetransistor in memory cell MC increases according to increase in channellength thereof, the voltage level of selected word line can beincreased.

Therefore, the gate potential of pull-down transistor 21 can be adjustedaccording to the variations in threshold voltage of the access or drivetransistor in memory cell MC, and driver power supply voltage VDDR canbe adjusted in the direction not deteriorating the write characteristicsand the read current.

Further, each of resistance elements 226 and 228 is the N-type dopedpolycrystalline silicon non-silicide resistor. Therefore, resistanceelements 226 and 228 have the resistance values that vary to the extentsequal to each other. Since voltage VG on internal node 25 depends on theresistance ratio between resistance elements 226 and 228, it is possibleto prevent deviation of voltage VG on internal node 25 from the optimumvalue that may occur due to variations in resistance elements 226 and228.

In the fourth embodiment already described, resistance element 28corresponding to resistance element 228 is formed of the diffusionresistor. For example, when channel width W of pull-down transistor 21increases and the threshold voltage equivalently decreases, thecorrection is therefore performed to raise voltage VG on internal node25. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the influence that may be exertedon driver power supply voltage VDDR by the variations in thresholdvoltage of pull-down transistor 21.

However, when the influence of reverse narrow effect is large inpull-down transistor 21, the threshold voltage of pull-down transistor21 increases with increase in channel width W thereof so that thecorrection effect achieved by employing the diffusion resistor asresistance element 28 is small. In this case, the structure of thistwelfth embodiment employing the N-type doped polycrystalline siliconnon-silicide resistor as resistance element 228 is effective.

FIG. 34 is a graph illustrating a relationship of a shift quantity ofthe gate length of pull-down transistor 21 with respect to theresistance values of resistance elements 226 and 228 as well as voltageVG on internal node 25.

In this twelfth embodiment, resistance element 228 has a largerinterconnection width than resistance element 226. Assuming thatresistance element 226 has a resistance value of Ra and resistanceelement 228 has a resistance value of Rb, voltage VG on internal node 25can be expressed by the following equation:

${V\; G} = {\frac{Ra}{{Ra} + {Rb}} \times V\; D\; D}$

Assuming that R represents the resistance value, l represents theinterconnection length of the resistance and L represents theinterconnection width of the resistance, the relationship of (R=ρ×l/L)is present. Therefore, voltage VG on internal node 25 can be expressedby the following equation, where la and lb represent the interconnectionlengths of resistance elements 226 and 228, respectively, and La and Lbrepresent the interconnection widths of resistance elements 226 and 228,respectively.

${V\; G} = {{\frac{\rho \times \frac{la}{La}}{{\rho \times \frac{la}{La}} + {\rho \times \frac{lb}{Lb}}} \times V\; D\; D} = {\frac{1}{1 + \frac{lb}{la} + \frac{La}{Lb}} \times V\; D\; D}}$

It is assumed that relationships of (Lb=m×La) and (lb=n×Ia) are present.When a variation of d occurs in the gate length of pull-down transistor21, a voltage VGD on internal node 25 is expressed by the followingequation:

${V\; G\; D} = {\frac{1}{1 + {\frac{n \times {la}}{la} \times \frac{{La} + d}{{m \times {La}} + d}}} \times V\; D\; D}$

Therefore, the quantity of change in voltage VG on internal node 25 thatis caused by the variations in gate length of pull-down transistor 21can be expressed by the following equation:

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{V\; G\; D}{V\; G} = \frac{1 + {\frac{n \times {la}}{la} \times \frac{{La} + d}{{m \times {La}} + d}}}{1 + {\frac{n \times {la}}{la} \times \frac{La}{m \times {La}}}}} \\{= {1 - {\frac{n}{m} \times \frac{\left( {m - 1} \right)}{{\left( {m + n} \right) \times {La}} + {\left( {n + 1} \right) \times d}} \times d}}}\end{matrix}$

According to the above equation, even when interconnection width Lb ofresistance element 228 is larger than interconnection width La ofresistance element 226 (i.e., m>1) and the gate length of pull-downtransistor 21 increases (i.e., d>0), voltage VGD on internal node 25decreases. When the gate length of pull-down transistor 21 decreases(i.e., d<0), voltage VGD on internal node 25 increases.

The structure described above can improve the sensitivity to thevariations in gate length of pull-down transistor 21.

Other structures and operations are the same as those of the firstembodiment, and therefore detailed description thereof is not repeated.

In the present invention, driver power supply circuit 10 may beconfigured to further include a resistance element connected betweendriver power supply line 11 and pull-down element 21 and manufactured bythe same process as resistance element 20. By such a structure, theeffect caused by variation in the manufacture of resistance element 20can be reduced.

By applying the invention to the static semiconductor memory device, itis possible to achieve the memory device that operates stably and fasteven with a low power supply voltage. Particularly, when it is mountedon the same semiconductor chip as a logic such as another processor, asis done, e.g., in an SOC (System On Chip), it is possible to provide thememory system that operates stably with low power consumption underconditions of a low power supply voltage.

Although the present invention has been described and illustrated indetail, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustrationand example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, the scopeof the present invention being interpreted by the terms of the appendedclaims.

1-31. (canceled)
 32. A semiconductor device comprising: a plurality ofstatic memory cells (MC) arranged in rows and columns, each memory cellincluding first and second load transistors (PQ1, PQ2), a first drivetransistor (NQ1) coupled to the first load transistor at a first storagenode, a second drive transistor (NQ2) coupled to the second loadtransistor at a second storage node, a first access transistor (NQ3)coupled to the first storage node and a second access transistor (NQ4)coupled to the second storage node; a plurality of word lines (WL0-WLn)provided corresponding to the rows, respectively, each word line coupledto the first and second access transistors of the memory cells in thecorresponding row; a plurality of bit line pairs (BL0, /BL0-BLm, /BLm)provided corresponding to the columns, respectively, each bit line paircoupled to the first and second access transistors of the memory cellsin the corresponding column; a plurality of word line drivers coupled tothe plurality of word lines, respectively, each word line driver drivingthe word line coupled thereto to a selected state; a driver power supplyline coupled commonly to the plurality of word line drivers and applyinga driver power supply voltage (VDDR) to the plurality of word linedrivers as respective operation voltages thereof; a driver power supplycircuit receiving a power supply voltage (VDD), which is higher than thedriver power supply voltage, on a main power supply node and providingthe driver power supply line with the drive power supply voltage, thedriver power supply circuit including: a resistance element coupledbetween the main power supply node and a couple node, and applying acurrent flowing from the main power supply node to the couple node, anda pull-down circuit coupled between the couple node and a ground node,and applying a current from the couple node to a ground node to stepdown a voltage on the couple node from the power supply voltage, thedriver power supply circuit producing the driver power supply voltagebased on the couple node.
 33. The semiconductor device according toclaim 32, wherein the pull-down circuit is so configured to allow ancurrent quantity adjustment of the current flowing from the couple nodeto the ground node.
 34. The semiconductor device according to claim 33,wherein the pull-down circuit includes a transistor coupled between thecouple node and the ground node.
 35. The semiconductor device accordingto claim 32, wherein the pull-down circuit includes a plurality oftransistors (UTG0-UTG3) coupled in parallel between the couple node andthe ground node and having gate electrodes receiving distinct signals(GTK0-GTK3 outputs) respectively.
 36. A semiconductor device comprising:a plurality of static memory cells (MC) arranged in rows and columns,each memory cell including first and second load transistors (PQ1, PQ2),first drive transistor (NQ1) coupled to the first load transistor at afirst storage node, a second drive transistor (NQ2) coupled to thesecond load transistor at a second storage node, a first accesstransistor (NQ3) coupled to the first storage node and a second accesstransistor (NQ4) coupled to the second storage node; a plurality of wordlines (WL0-WLn) provided corresponding to the rows, respectively, eachword line coupled to the first and second access transistors of thememory cells in the corresponding row; a plurality of bit line pairs(BL0, /BL0-BLm, /BLm) provided corresponding to the columns,respectively, each bit line pair coupled to the first and second accesstransistors of the memory cells in the corresponding column; a pluralityof word line drivers coupled to the plurality of word lines,respectively, each word line driver driving the word line coupledthereto to a selected state; a driver power supply line coupled commonlyto the plurality of word line drivers and applying a driver power supplyvoltage (VDDR) to the plurality of word line drivers as respectiveoperation voltages thereof; a driver power supply circuit receiving apower supply voltage (VDD), which is higher than the driver power supplyvoltage, on a main power supply node and providing the driver powersupply line with the drive power supply voltage, the driver power supplycircuit including: a first element coupled between the main power supplynode and a couple node, and applying a current flowing from the mainpower supply node to the couple node, and a second element applying acurrent flowing from the couple node to an ground node and including aplurality of transistors (UTG0-UTG3) coupled in parallel between thecouple node and the ground node, and having gate electrodes receivingdistinct signals (GTK0-GTK3 outputs) respectively, at least one of theplurality of transistors being conductive to apply the current flowingfrom the couple node to the ground node, the driver power supply circuitproducing the driver power supply voltage based on the couple node. 37.The semiconductor device according to claim 36, wherein the firstelement includes a resistance element.